Cuy for the Congo: a Solution to Hunger?

If you have ever watched that Travel Channel Bizarre Foods guy, Andrew Zimmern, more than once, you have a stronger stomach than I do. I came across the show once when Andrew was in Spain and found it pretty comical when he was eating things like suckling pig brains and bull testicles. I can, however, assure you that the Travel Channel could not pay me enough money to try this stuff. The next time I saw it, Andrew was in Delhi eating some stuff that was making my poor sensitive tummy scream at me: "Shut that off! Shut that off or it's going to get ugly!" So I shut it off and have never looked at it again. Now, don't get me wrong. I am not xenophobic about customs and cultures that are alien to me. I am perfectly willing to sample most foreign dishes. My only requirement is that it doesn't contain some ingredient I am not in the habit of eating in my regular diet. If it's got rotten sharkmeat in it (Andrew ate that in Iceland), I'll pass.

Today, I was reading an article in the Bizarre News section of the Houston Chronicle, (Guinea Pig touted as solution to Congo food crisis, 2010 Feb 16). It's a rather short article, telling how a South American research team is looking into the feasibility of ending hunger in the Congo with guinea pigs. The Chron article says that researcher for the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) found out in 2009 that guinea pigs were being kept as "micro-livestock" in the Congo. The CIAT researchers don't seem to know how the guinea pigs got over there but they feel that using the small furry rodents as a food source could be a major step in resolving hunger and malnutrition problems. The researchers said: "Small and easy to conceal, guinea pigs are well-suited to (Congo's) conflict zones, where extreme poverty and widespread lawlessness means that the looting of larger domestic livestock is commonplace."

Naturally, I had to look into this further because the idea of eating a guinea pig is pretty bizarre to me. Well, what I learned was that it's nothing new at all (except for how they ended up in the Congo, maybe). Some South American countries, like Peru and Ecuador, have been eating guinea pigs, or "cuy," for centuries. They also used them in ritual healing and as religious sacrifices. They even have paintings, one from the 18th century, hanging in churches depicting Christ with the Apostles at the Last Supper, eating roast cuy.

In 2004, there was a big push in Peru to try to get the rest of the world to enjoy cuy. La Molina University developed a "Peruvian breed" of the guinea pig specifically for export. Members of the Peruvian breed weigh in at about 2.5 pounds and are touted as plumper and tastier than your average bony little guinea pig. So far, they have not been that successful in exporting the Peruvian breed, except as a niche market serving South Americans abroad in the USA and certain parts of Europe. Evidently, in the Congo solution, it is not the CIAT's intent to export guinea pigs for consumption, but to help with the breeding of them over there. Maybe that's what's new.

The cuy can be fried or roasted, or used to make soup. Supposedly, it tastes like rabbit or the dark meat of chicken. I ate some rabbit once, even snails. I didn't like either and I'm not one to pretend that I like something, especially when I am obviously gagging! I've also been told that if I knew what was in those sweet Italian sausages I am so fond of making with peppers, I wouldn't want to eat them anymore. That could be true, if they made me watch them being made with awful stuff, but as long as I can buy them in the supermarket, I'm good. As for the cuy, I don't suppose it's any worse than the pigs hanging up in the Chinese supermarket where I work with their heads still on. Maybe it's not much different than eating cornish hens. I don't know and may never find out. As for Andrew Zimmern, he's probably already had some cuy. If not, one of the places he is visiting in his new season (beginning April 26, 2010) is Argentina, so he can chow down on cuy and heaven knows what else, but I won't be watching.

CBS News, Peru Pushes Guinea Pigs As Food, 2004 Oct 19
Double Handshake, On the viability of exporting guinea pigs from Peru to China, 2009 Mar 9
The Travel Channel, Bizarre Foods