It has been rightly said by someone that nothing is good or bad in this world. It’s only the publicity or our ordination (संस्कार) which makes it so. Many things are a regular practice among people in one part of the world whereas people in another part of the world hate them. For example, Hindus in India burn their dead and that too within hours of demise. However, in Liberia, West Africa, they considered Hindus cruel and heartless for this act. Friends at Monrovia would often ask me when I was there, that how could you people think of putting the body of your loved one on fire and that too without losing any time.
I noted the same thing about food during my travels abroad. At Phnom Penh and at Siem Reap, the most popular destinations of Cambodia, I saw insects like crickets and worms being sold by food vendors on streets. This was unbelievable for me. I was not able to look at these things.
I was told it was not only in Cambodia, but insects were eaten in few other countries like Laos and Vietnam in South East Asia. One reason for this was said to be poverty. But I do not think that this could be the only reason for this. There might be cultural reasons too.
Back home, I tried to
collect more information about it. I came to know that eating insets like crickets
etc. in some countries of South East Asia was being encouraged by even by
United Nations. There was a UNDP project on edible insects in Laos. It said
that a large population of this and neighboring areas was deficient in
protein. And to make up this deficiency, insects, especially some species of crickets
was a very cheap and good source of dietary protein.
At the world famous Angkor Wat temple complex at Siem Reap
