Uganda's booming grasshopper industry leaps over tradition

[JackLuis]

Ugandan tradition dictates that only women and children catch grasshoppers, but high profit margins have brought men into the industry, too.

http://www.csmonitor.com/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/images/2011/0725-weekly/0725-dgrasshoppers-uganda-food-economy-culture/10446635-1-eng-US/0725-DGRASSHOPPERS-UGANDA-FOOD-ECONOMY-CULTURE_full_380.jpg​

Or, this is a case of men taking advantage of a market, not their own, and depriving women and children of their income?

Or, is this an example of man's more practical nature maximizing return on investment and lower labor cost?

However, I would think that the market for fried grasshoppers shouldn't be that big.

 

[mynameisben]

Or, this is a case of men taking advantage of a market, not their own, and depriving women and children of their income?

Or, is this an example of man's more practical nature maximizing return on investment and lower labor cost?

However, I would think that the market for fried grasshoppers shouldn't be that big.

Why limit the market to fried? I'm sure there is a sizable health-conscious population that would prefer grasshopper lightly steamed and served with a slice of lemon.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Well, if you catch and eat them while they're still grasshoppers, maybe the population will stay down below the 'horde of locusts' stage. I call it a good idea and an efficient use of protein, as well.

I've heard that they're very good, once you strip off the prickly legs and the dry, stiff wings.

 

[JackLuis]

I expect crisped with garlic and chili oil, they might be good, but why are men taking over a role traditionally restricted to Women and Children?

Have Ugandan men lost their sense of manhood, or has the demographics change in central Africa displaced it?

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Capitalism lives!