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Farmers celebrate the Year of the Rat by eating them
WONG:
And as some of our viewers know, in the Chinese lunar calendar, 2008 is the Year of the Rat. Many people will be celebrating this week, including rice famers in Thailand, who are celebrating the year of the rat by eating them up. Here's more:
STORY:
Thailand's central Suphan Buri (pron: Su-pan Bu-ree) province is the world's biggest rice exporter in the world. But this year rats have invaded the rice fields and are eating up the crops.
But when life gave them lemons, the rice farmers decided to make lemonade, and have been selling rat meat along the highway, to compensate for their losses as they celebrate the year of the rat.
[Jong Oomsri, Rat Meat Vendor]: (male, thai)
"The farmers want us to take all of these rats away. Even though it's the year of the rat, they don't want them because they destroy their rice crops. The rats are good value for money."
The rats are caught in bamboo traps. After being boiled and cleaned, they are ready to sell to food vendors and wholesalers.
Rat meat is also a traditional dish in Thailand. And with a little basil and red curry locals say it's even better than beef.
[Somros Khaotai, Rat Meat Lover]: (male, Thai)
"When we fry it with basil leaf, it's crispy. It tastes better than beef. It's a wild rat. It's delicious."
Filipino farmers have also taken to rat hunting. They dig through the soil, drown the rats with water, and collect their bodies as they surface. They can catch up to one thousand rats a day.
A bandicoot rat can weigh up to half a kilogram and is sold for Five U.S. Dollars a kilogram compared to Two U.S Dollars for a roasted chicken.
Farmers also believe that since rats eat the best part of their rice grains, they are healthier to eat than other meats.
[Caloy Manila, Filippino Farmer]: (male, filipino)
"It tastes like bird meat. We prefer it to pork and other high-cholesterol meat. This one is healthy."
Popular Filipino recipes include rat in soy and vinegar stew, dried and salted rat, and rat cooked in a rich tomato sauce.
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