Guangzhou Farmer Breeds 7 Million Locusts for Food

Guangzhou Farmer Breeds 7 Million Locusts for Food
Apr 25, 2014 By eChinacities.com

Guangdong is known for its rather broad definition of what can be considered food (the general rule is if it has legs; you can eat it), and one farmer from Conghua near Guangzhou is cashing in on this by breeding 7 million locusts as livestock. Deep fried locusts are considered a delicacy in the southern province.

It all began in November 2011 at the Conghua Food Festival when Xie Bozhen displayed his deep fried locusts next to cans of locusts soaked in rice wine. The locusts were well priced and drew a lot of attention from the festival goers.

Besides their biblical notoriety as pests that destroy any crops in their path, locusts are actually extremely nutritious and apparently are packed full of protein. They have long held a place in South East Asian food culture.

His farm now covers an area of 10 km and currently produces up to 9 batches of locusts, with each batch weighing between six and eight tons.

The farmers of Conghua are understandably concerned, given locusts’ reputation for wreaking havoc on crops, and have raised their concerns with the local authorities. They’ve reached an agreement with Xie, that he must install very strict security measures and if the locusts breach their confines and bring a plague upon the surrounding farmlands Xie must pay for a plane to spray pesticides over the entire area and compensate any financial losses.

Source: bendibao.com

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Keywords: Guangzhou Farmer Breeds Locusts

9 Comments

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strength

Locusts aren't bad. Apart from the ick factor, and the oil they're fried in, there isn't much to them. Their flavor is mildly reminiscent of nuts and seeds.

May 08, 2014 22:52 Report Abuse

ModestTruth

Not my cup of tea but I would eat anything if I was starving to death

May 03, 2014 12:29 Report Abuse

skunkman

I find them delicious...stir-fried with garlic and onions!...same with mole crickets!!...and those brown Asian June bugs!!!

Apr 26, 2014 20:35 Report Abuse

sharkies

Disgusting.

Apr 25, 2014 23:13 Report Abuse

Hotwater

Why disgusting? In a lot of developing countries locusts (& other insects) are eaten. Did you not read "locusts are actually extremely nutritious and apparently are packed full of protein". (Not that I'd eat them myself though!)

Apr 26, 2014 15:16 Report Abuse

sharkies

Just because something is nutritious doesn't mean it's meant to be eaten. Men's semen is also full of protein. Does that mean you'd like to drink it? As I said in my first comment - disgusting. I don't need to justify my comment to you.

Apr 26, 2014 19:11 Report Abuse

Hotwater

but you just did try justifying your comment to me! :-) not sure where your comment about men's semen is relevant. A bit hard to "harvest" enough of that to make it commercially viable whereas locusts appear to be easy to breed.

Apr 27, 2014 11:11 Report Abuse

ModestTruth

I'm sure it's not that hard to harvest what with all the creeps, pervs, and racists that troll this site lmao

May 03, 2014 12:31 Report Abuse

ModestTruth

It can be disgusting if he finds it disgusting. There are people who don't like chicken, let alone people who vomit at the thought of sushi. Why can people find normal food to be repulsive and everyone kisses their ass over dietary restrictions? Why can't he find eating bugs disgusting? Just because it's edible doesn't make it appealing to everyone. U know, in some parts of the world they would force prisoners to eat lobsters because their cultures thought that lobsters are foul and disgusting insectile creatures. Bottom-feeding crap eaters of the sea. It's all perception.

May 03, 2014 12:39 Report Abuse