Every one of us has been affected by the increasing world price of grain. Bread has become more expensive, rice has soared through the roof and we are having to spend more and more money on food. However, we are fortunate in that we actually have extra money to use for food.
In one of the poorest regions of Eastern India where the price of grain has made it difficult for people to afford enough to eat, their local government has come up with a solution. They are trying to convince the people to start eating rats.
The thinking here is that rat meat in very high in protein and tastes better than chicken. It is also free. The people just have to catch the rats.
Rats are commonly eaten in China and specific types of rats are considered to be a delicacy in some South American countries.
Central China has been suffering from a plague of rats which were displaced by a flooded lake. These have been shipped by the truck load from the area, down to the south so that they can be served up by restaurants. There is a thriving trade in live rats in Hunan province. Villagers say that they can catch 150 kilograms of rats per night and these live rats sell for 6 yuan a kilo.
In India encouraging people to eat rats will have positive effects on two fronts. It will provide extra food for the people and cut down on the dependence on rice and furthr reduce rat numbers. It is estimated that more than fifty percent of India's grain in fields and warehouses is eaten by rats.
The chief welfare officer for the area claims that he has eaten rat and that it is very tasty. Rich and poor people alike are being encouraged to do this in an attempt to stave off mass starvation if the price of grain goes any higher.
There are schemes to operate rat farms that can supply restaurants and high quality hotels with meat as well as earning money for the poorest of people.
People are going along with this suggestion and doing as the government says because the only real alternative is hunger. They cannot afford enough rice to eat, so they have little choice.
Imagine the outrage in Western countries if our governments offered eating rats as a solution to the current hike in food prices. There would be total uproar.
