Not sure if anyone is open to having a delicious rat for dinner but turns out there are certain parts of the country which feast of these rodents.

What you may not know is that rats are a popular source of protein among Vietnamese farming communities in both the north and south as well as some of the bigger cities in the region. In fact, rodent meat fetches higher prices than chicken and companies produces up to 3,600 tons of live rats a year, at a value of about $2 million.

If you’re grossed out right now it’s probably because you don’t realize there are actually dozens of rat species, and Vietnamese mostly eat two common ones: The rice field rat, which weighs up to half a pound, and the bandicoot rat, which can grow up to two pounds. At least 89 rodent species are eaten around the world, from Asia to Africa to South America to the United States, where squirrels have long been a choice of meals.

If you’re wondering what rat tastes like, foreigners who try rodent meat often say it tastes like chicken but the darker meat tastes more like a rabbit. Hungry yet?

Source: National Geographic