Page 4 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
ASIA / PACIFIC
September 1, 2014
Man with many piercings
denied entry to Dubai
APPETIZING ARTHROPODS. Fried grasshoppers and other fried insects are sold at a stand at a gas
station in Nakhon Ratchasima province, northeastern Thailand. Six-legged livestock, as the U.N. Food and Agri-
culture Organization calls them, are easier on the environment than their lesser-legged counterparts. It takes
2,900 gallons of water, 25 pounds of feed, and extensive acreage to produce one pound of beef and just one
gallon of water, two pounds of feed, and a small cubicle to produce a pound of crickets. (AP Photo/Apichart
Weerawong)
Edible insects a boon
to Thailand’s farmers
Continued from page one
flourished, with some entrepreneurs
getting rich by selling dried cockroaches to
companies producing cosmetics and
traditional medicines.
Besides generating extra income,
insects have proven nutritious and
farming them is easy on the environment,
according to a 2013 FAO report.
“Eating a few insects is like taking a
multivitamin,” says Patrick B. Durst, a
senior FAO official who co-authored a
study on Thailand’s edible insect industry.
A six-ounce serving of crickets, for
example, has 60 percent less saturated fat
and twice as much vitamin B-12 as the
same amount of ground beef. Farmers
don’t use antibiotics or growth hormones
and — unlike crabs and lobsters — edible
insects don’t feed on dead animals.
Six-legged livestock, as the agency calls
them, are also kinder to the environment
than their lesser-legged counterparts. It
takes 2,900 gallons of water, 25 pounds of
feed, and extensive acreage to produce one
pound of beef and just one gallon of water,
two pounds of feed, and a small cubicle to
produce a pound of crickets.
And when one suppresses any psycho-
logical and cultural biases, many insects
taste just fine. This reporter found crickets
nicely crisp and nutty (a cross between
shrimp and almond), and fried bamboo
worms not unlike unsalted potato chips.
Palm weevils, to some palates, are likened
to bacon soup with a chewy, sweet finish,
while insect larvae are rich and buttery.
“Mushroomy” is another frequently-used
description for some species.
Although a decade ago, insect eating
was largely a gimmick — such as a bug
embedded in a lollipop — experts say a
recent increase in interest in the west is
being driven by health and environmental
concerns.
Energy bars made from ground-up
crickets are now found in some health food
stores in the United States, and the first
cricket farm opened in Youngstown, Ohio
this year. In San Francisco, the Don Bugito
Prehispanic Snackeria can whip up a
five-course, all-insect dinner including ice
cream with mealworms. A bar in Paris
serves insect tapas and a London start-up,
Eat Ento, features honey caterpillar and
vegetable wraps.
“When I was growing up in the United
States, most people would turn up their
noses at sushi. Now, it’s very chic. People’s
eating habits do change, so who knows? In
10 to 15 years, eating insects may take off
and be regarded as good and cool,” says
Durst, who enjoys his favorites — fried
wasps and crickets — with beer. Creating
such a buzz, he says, may involve a cele-
brity chef putting some palm weevil larvae
or giant water bugs on a menu “with
someone like Tom Hanks eating them. And
then people will say, ‘If it’s good enough for
him, it’s good enough for me.”’
Durst is cautious about predictions that
edible insects will stave off hunger in parts
of the world, but believes that as a
supplement, it could become an important
component of food security. In countries as
far apart as Laos and Ghana, projects are
underway to combat malnutrition with
insect farming. And there is major growth
in the breeding of insects for feed at fish
and poultry farms and for biosecurity
through the release of some species to
combat pests.
In Thailand, many people — not just the
rural poor — simply enjoy eating some of
the 200 different species on offer. Large
quantities must be imported from Cam-
bodia, China, Laos, and Myanmar and
domestically often fetch higher prices than
chicken, beef, or pork.
This is all good news for farmers like
47-year-old Boontham, who started his
business four years ago with a modest
capital investment, relatively low-cost in-
put such as cricket feed, and little physical
labor. He now reaps an annual profit of
about $3,000. A neighbor, Chalong Prajitr,
says she was able to send her son to univer-
sity thanks to the extra annual income of
$5,000, a considerable sum in northeast
Thailand, where annual per capita income
is estimated at about $2,200.
“In the past, people depended on rice
farming for their source of income. But we
get only one harvest a year, while you can
harvest crickets once every two months,”
says Boontham.
And without an irrigation system in the
area, a year of drought could spell disaster
for farmers. “Crickets,” he says, “are less
risky.”
To boost their business, the village
cricket farmers have formed a loose
cooperative to share information and
facilitate marketing. They also receive
help from local authorities and Khon Kaen
University, a major center for research on
edible insects and efforts to export them,
developing products like crickets with
Mediterranean herbs and bamboo worms
flavored with sour cream.
British businessman Graeme Lee Rose
and his Thai wife have seen their own
export business to Europe, the U.S., and
Australia grow in recent years, especially
for cricket powder used in energy bars and
biscuits. Still, bestsellers for his JR
Unique Foods remain novelty items like
chocolate-covered scorpions and four-bug
kebabs.
“There’s been quite a bit of interest and
we see a lot of potential, but it’s not
something people are going to be throwing
on the barbecue,” he says. “It’s not going to
replace steaks.”
DUBAI, United Arab
Emirates (AP) — A Dubai
nightclub that hoped to
feature a man who holds
the world record for having
the most piercings says he
was refused entry to the
gulf city because of security
concerns.
Cirque Le Soir said in an
e-mailed statement that
the club did its best to get
Rolf Buchholz into the
country, but their efforts
were unsuccessful. The
German man has 453
piercings, including many
in his face and genitals,
according to Guinness
World Records.
Buchholz
had
been
scheduled to appear at the
nightclub in the Fairmont
Hotel. The club opened in
Dubai in 2011, and like a
STUCK AT THE BORDER. German Rolf Buchholz shows his face
with 168 piercings, while visiting the 20th Tattoo Convention in Berlin in
this December 4, 2010 file photo. A Dubai nightclub that hoped to fea-
ture Buchholz, who holds the world record for having the most piercings,
said in an e-mailed statement that he was refused entry to the gulf city
because of security concerns. The German man now has 453 piercings,
including many in his face and genitals, according to Guinness World
Records. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)
Police and immigration
sister venue in London,
promises an over-the-top officials at the airport did
circus atmosphere to wow not immediately respond to
late-night partygoers.
requests for comment.
The Asian Reporter is published on
the first & third Monday each month.
News page advertising deadlines
for our next two issues are:
September 15 to October 5 edition:
Space reservations due: Wednesday, Sept. 10 at 1:00pm
Artwork due: Thursday, Sept. 11 at 1:00pm
Think you’re
an organ and
tissue donor?
Not if you haven’t
told your family.
Talk to your family about
organ and tissue donation.
Talk to your family
about donating life.
For a free donor card
brochure, contact:
October 6 to 19 edition:
Space reservations due: Wednesday, October 1 at 1:00pm
Artwork due: Thursday, October 2 at 1:00pm
For more information, call (503) 283-4440
or e-mail <ads@asianreporter.com>.
AVAILABLE NOW
Donate Life Northwest
(503) 494-7888
1-800-452-1369
www.donatelifenw.org
In-Town moves from
w TRUCKS
$19.95
w TRAILERS
w HITCHES
w AUTO TRANSPORTS
Plus Mileage
503-538-2008
RESERVE one now
First United Engineering