Rats… To many rats are a disgusting creature that we cannot wait to have killed or removed.
However in Cambodia, no rat is left to waste… especially not when inflation has increased the cost of meat almost double in the last year.
Many Cambodians already believed rat meat to be a great source of protein and a tasty little snack when gathered together drinking, but the popularity of the meat really began to increase when beef hit around $10 a pound.
At around $2.50 a pound, rat meat favorites like the garlic-flavored field rat have quickly replaced the standard beef dishes.
“Not only are our poor eating it, but there is also demand from Vietnamese living on the border with us.” said an agricultural official from Koh Thom.
Not only have the locals saved money by eating more rat meat, they have also been able to earn more money by catching rats and making them table-ready.
Latest posts by Mtsang (see all)
- Rat Meat Rises in Popularity as Inflation Hits Locals - September 3, 2008
armando
$2.50/lb sounds quite steep for Cambodia. Must be mistake.
nick
jerks rats deserve to live how would you like it if they ate u
Emmy
Wow how about if I got a rat to insult and then threaten you for your opinion?
Debbie
I think so too, does anything cost 10.00 in cambodia? When they speak of feild mice I think rabies, maybe they can have farm raised rats, give them some of that stuff perdue uses to produce 15lb. chickens.
Joshua
Have these dumb-asses ever heard of the Black Plague? Their all gonna die…
Gee-Man
Uh, the Black Plague was a BACTERIAL based disease carried by fleas. Any trace of the bacteria would have been destroyed as long as the meat was cooked at a high enough temperature.
Lack of basic pathogenic knowledge=fail
Gabriel
If you cook the food for long enough in hot boiling water (or on open fire) most of the bacteria and viruses will die, or will be so weakend that they can not survive the attack of your imune system.
Mikaya
Considering Cambodia’s education system, especially for the low income demographic, I would warrant no. No, they haven’t heard of the Black Plague.
mad
you can’t get black plague by eating it dumb ass
HMW
The black plague didn't start because people were eating rats, dumb ass, what proof we have of rat and mouse contamination was flea-based and even that's in dispute. You want to know what spread the black plague way faster than any rats? Antisemitism. Think I'm kidding? Go read a book, education yourself.
darkwing duck
with all the rat’s in new york I will be rich
Infogleaner
ummm…perhaps it’s time for that vegetarian diet…
Thomas
If you turn vegetarian then there’s no more vegies then what now? jk i understand but i believe a mixture of both meat / vegie helps
groping_grape
insects are way better than those dirty,creepy,small moving piece of meat
Kristian
Small Island Nation = No room to raise Large amounts of Cattle.
Also if they meant 10 Cambodian Riel = 0.002481 US Dollar
or what dollar they are comparing to.
Even if the numbers are off it is just a demonstration of the cost difference between the 2 meats (i.e. RAT meat trades for 1 bucket of mud, and Beef Trades for 4 Buckets of mud)
Harold
It’s not an island nation. It’s surrounded on three sides by other countries. And they generally use the American dollar as their currency because their own is too unstable and worthless.
emfajar
yeughhh its so disgusting..
Acara
How is this more disgusting than any other meat?
It’s unusual and weird for sure, but Disgusting?
George
I guess these people are overjoyed that they “defeated” the US in the region so that they can now enjoy fine dining ! Leave it to the leftists to liberate the people !
reyda
no, you are mistaken, you must have forgotten that real commies would eat their own children. Like they told you in the propaganda. (-_-)
goodone
^LOL
Roger
Ya gotta do what ya gotta do…
O’Neil
Holy crap those are huge rats in the first pic they’re almost the size of small dogs.
Still as gross as it sounds it’s a cheap and nearly inexhaustible protein source since rats breed and mature so quickly and likely an idea solution for them.
Les Stroud off survivor man eats rodents on half the episodes.
Mikaya
Guessing the large rat thing is due to a little thing called camera angles, and how they seem to be cut flat when grilled.
Jane
This article is misleading. The rat they eat are field rat, which eat grain and veggie in the field, not sewage rat so they are not dirty and edible. I have tried them before and they are not bad at all. Probably cleaner and tastier than the battery caged chicken that people from developed countries normally eat
yungboss
u nasty disgustin scum of the planet
Jonathan
You rude, inconsiderate, biased human being.
Heru
Oh, really? I’m not enough shy to this fact…Because in my country, not to bad with they problem…
chuz
que feo …so difficult this life
HoneyDewMe
I’m cambodian, and believe me, cambodians eat EVERYTHING. Fried tarantulas, maggots, cochroaches, you name it. Anything that is edible is considered food in Cambodia.
Lillian
Hey, I'm Cantonese. You know, maybe we should get married and form a buffet.
Ricky Chan
Hey, I’m Hainanese. You know, if your marriage with him doesn’t work, you have me waiting for you so we can form another better buffet.
ular
Actually, i felt for those people. Don’t you think they would have want to eat beef or something better if they get to choose?
Yes you guys from rich countries are born with nothing to worry about, everything is ready for you. You can easily get good food anywhere, good education..good life and then starts to wonder ” wow..this dumbasses are dumbasses trying to eat rats …ewwww “
Adam
In some south american countries with a higher GDP than Cambodia they have rodents as a regular part of their diet. Conversely in some countries the thought of eating a cow would horrify.
Indra
Hi Jane
It want to know how it taste?
Is it red or white meat?
Spike
I imagine that they could be quite tasty. I’m not so sure about plain old grilled (broiled?) ones, but I’m sure that stewed or casseroled, maybe stirfried.
Perhaps boiled first, then the meat can be stripped from the bones & shredded, spices added & cooked, tossed through some delicious vegetables = Rat Salad.
susan
just catch one and eat
booger
just catch and bight off head, then suck blood from gaping neck. delicious and nutritious on the go drink and snack.
yungfresh
u sick mf were the hell u ppl come from
Alana
Where did you come from, does everyone have a dirty mouth like that? How horrid.
yungboss
thats why there is so much things happenin in ur country u ppl is flity and disgustin u make me sick to be a human
deech
Are they gonna get sick, i think i am already.≧__≦