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Frog Legs Running Out of Supply

  • Antonio Evans
  • August 10, 2011

Who would ever imagine that what was once a delicacy has become a famous gastronomic and culinary treat for many people around the world is almost facing extinction? The delicacy will soon lose its popularity with the issue of sustainability – frogs.

Frog legs ” this amphibious cuisine definitely made many foodies crave for its chewy leg meat. I’m not just speaking about a region’s appetite for frog legs as there has been quite an international demand for this seemingly popular treat. Did you know that in order to deliver more than 2,000 metric tons of frog legs, you’re looking at live frogs of at least more than 500 million to a billion in count. This is just for the live frogs imported to the U.S. alone. Now, imagine how many millions or even billions of live frogs are being supplied to Asian-American markets, and do not count out the European market in this category. Unlike chicken, which is being sustained through local poultry farming and the like, there’s nothing like it for the frogs.

Frogs are natural wild-born amphibians. They live, eat, and die in the open land. You do not just find any frog breeders anywhere. There are what they call the farm frogs. These are the frogs that suppliers hunt to export in foreign countries. India and Bangladesh may have dominated the frog sales by over harvesting their frogs back in the 80s. Today, farm frogs are being exported in other Asian countries such as Taiwan, Vietnam, and China, while the U.S. still has Mexico to supply their froggy needs.

Of the species that are being harvested, farmed or hunted and exported, the native ones are very popular. This includes North America’s largest specie of frogs, the American Bullfrog. It is amongst the very popular because it’s big and meaty, something that we love about our meats. What we do not know that this frog specie is very susceptible for acquiring and spreading the fungus, chytrid zoospores, like no other specie. The bullfrog does not die from the fungus. Instead, it becomes the main carrier of the disease, infecting other local and native species. The exportation of these fungus vectors has led to the spread of the fungus to other species, affecting its population and contributing to its extinction.

Frog Legs Running Out of SupplyIndeed, the world’s appetite for frog legs has led to a scary battle between sustainability and food supply. And this requires safeguarding the number of frogs to sustain the market. While we indulge ourselves with the limbs of this wildlife amphibians, more and more of them are being taken away from their homes, killed and eventually losing their so-called, “private life”in the wild. If not used for biology classes, they are served in plates. What more can be done to harm these poor animals. Think about what you need to do to help them before taking a bite at that precious limb.

About the Author:

Antonio Evans is an entrepreneur/speaker/researcher who specializes in the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and the culinary world. More from Antonio Evans

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