Showing posts with label Chinese weirdness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chinese weirdness. Show all posts
Saturday, 7 December 2013
Thursday, 24 October 2013
Cockroach farming is booming in China as the country looks for new, cheaper medicines for its rapidly ageing population
By Malcolm Moore, Qufu
The correct way to eat a cockroach, at least in this corner of northern China, is to fry it not once but twice in a wok of smoking hot oil.
"The second time makes the shell crispy and the inside succulent," said 43-year-old Wang Fuming, as he tipped a bowl of freshly harvested bugs, one or two of their legs still twitching, into the sizzling pan.
Mr Wang is the leading cockroach farmer in Shandong province, with more than 22 million of the insects living in a series of nondescript, concrete bunkers in the suburbs of Jinan.
After cooking, Mr Wang gently ladled them onto a plate, their bodies plumped with the oil and their wings slightly spread, before sprinkling a packet of instant noodle powder – pickled cabbage flavour – over the dish.
"It would be better if we had some chilli," he apologised.
The cockroach, whose innards resemble cottage cheese, has an earthy taste, with a slight twinge of ammonia.
By Malcolm Moore, Qufu
The correct way to eat a cockroach, at least in this corner of northern China, is to fry it not once but twice in a wok of smoking hot oil.
"The second time makes the shell crispy and the inside succulent," said 43-year-old Wang Fuming, as he tipped a bowl of freshly harvested bugs, one or two of their legs still twitching, into the sizzling pan.
Mr Wang is the leading cockroach farmer in Shandong province, with more than 22 million of the insects living in a series of nondescript, concrete bunkers in the suburbs of Jinan.
After cooking, Mr Wang gently ladled them onto a plate, their bodies plumped with the oil and their wings slightly spread, before sprinkling a packet of instant noodle powder – pickled cabbage flavour – over the dish.
"It would be better if we had some chilli," he apologised.
The cockroach, whose innards resemble cottage cheese, has an earthy taste, with a slight twinge of ammonia.
But they have become popular in China not for their taste, but for their medicinal benefits.
"They really are a miracle drug," said Liu Yusheng, a professor at the Shandong Agricultural University and the head of Shandong province's Insect Association.
"They really are a miracle drug," said Liu Yusheng, a professor at the Shandong Agricultural University and the head of Shandong province's Insect Association.
"They can cure a number of ailments and they work much faster than other medicine."
Sacks of dead cockroachs waiting to be shipped
Prof Liu said a cream made from powdered cockroaches is in use in some Chinese hospitals as a treatment for burns and in Korea for cosmetic facial masks.
Meanwhile, a syrup invented by a pharmaceutical company in Sichuan promises to cure gastroenteritis, duodenal ulcers and pulmonary tuberculosis.
"China has the problem of an ageing population," explained Prof Liu.
Prof Liu said a cream made from powdered cockroaches is in use in some Chinese hospitals as a treatment for burns and in Korea for cosmetic facial masks.
Meanwhile, a syrup invented by a pharmaceutical company in Sichuan promises to cure gastroenteritis, duodenal ulcers and pulmonary tuberculosis.
"China has the problem of an ageing population," explained Prof Liu.
"So we are trying to find new medicines for older people, and these are generally cheaper than Western medicine. Also we have a tradition of eating bugs here in Shandong."
For a decade, Mr Wang farmed another type of insect, Eupolyphaga Sinensis, which is also used in "Traditional" Chinese Medicine.
But in the past two years, the demand for cockroaches has soared, and Mr Wang has switched his entire production to Periplaneta americana, or the American cockroach, a copper-coloured insect that grows to just over an inch and a half.
"These are not the same ones you see in your home, those are German cockroaches," he said.
For a decade, Mr Wang farmed another type of insect, Eupolyphaga Sinensis, which is also used in "Traditional" Chinese Medicine.
But in the past two years, the demand for cockroaches has soared, and Mr Wang has switched his entire production to Periplaneta americana, or the American cockroach, a copper-coloured insect that grows to just over an inch and a half.
"These are not the same ones you see in your home, those are German cockroaches," he said.
"There are hundreds of species of cockroaches, but only this one has any medicinal value. It is native to Guangdong province."
Intrepid Telegraph reporter Malcolm Moore samples a fried cockroach
Inside his bunkers are hundreds of nests, bolted together from concrete roof tiles, that line the shelves of dark corridors.
The doorways are lined with mesh, but some cockroaches have clustered on the low ceilings overhead and the air is heavy with a fetid stink.
Inside his bunkers are hundreds of nests, bolted together from concrete roof tiles, that line the shelves of dark corridors.
The doorways are lined with mesh, but some cockroaches have clustered on the low ceilings overhead and the air is heavy with a fetid stink.
"That is just how they smell," Mr Wang shrugged.
Last month was harvest time across Shandong.
Last month was harvest time across Shandong.
As farmers elsewhere in the province picked apples and cut corn, Mr Wang reaped huge sackfuls of roaches.
"We kill them before they reach four months old, because then their wings are fully grown and they can fly," he said.
"We kill them before they reach four months old, because then their wings are fully grown and they can fly," he said.
"They are very easy to kill, we take large vats of boiling water into the corridors and dunk the nests into them."
His entire output is sold to pharmaceutical companies, he said, and the price has risen strongly.
His entire output is sold to pharmaceutical companies, he said, and the price has risen strongly.
Since 2011, he has quintupled production, to more than 100 tons a year, and he has eight workers.
Outside his farm, another man is waiting to be shown around.
Outside his farm, another man is waiting to be shown around.
Since this spring, Mr Wang has had 100 enquiries from would-be cockroach farmers and has helped to build 30 other farms.
"Oh, the money is good," said Xiao Zhongwu, a wiry 49-year-old who has a smaller set of farms in the countryside near Qufu, the birthplace of Confucius.
"Oh, the money is good," said Xiao Zhongwu, a wiry 49-year-old who has a smaller set of farms in the countryside near Qufu, the birthplace of Confucius.
"I have a trucking business too, transporting marble, paper and farm products for local companies. But that brings in pocket money: it is cockroaches that bring in the big money."
Mr Xiao said he had invested £160,000 in building a series of small farms, their windows taped over with plastic sheeting to stop the cockroaches from escaping.
But, he said, he earns at least £30,000 a year from the insects, and up to £90,000 in a good year.
But, he said, he earns at least £30,000 a year from the insects, and up to £90,000 in a good year.
"The pharmaceutical companies set the price, but I stockpile my cockroaches when the supply is plentiful to wait for when the demand picks up."
Mr Xiao feeds his cockroaches a "special formula" of mashed up vegetables and waste to produce the high levels of amino acids that his buyers demand.
But, he said, farming the bugs is very simple.
Mr Xiao feeds his cockroaches a "special formula" of mashed up vegetables and waste to produce the high levels of amino acids that his buyers demand.
But, he said, farming the bugs is very simple.
"Just keep them warm and they are happy."
Until now, the industry, while booming, has remained mostly under the radar.
Until now, the industry, while booming, has remained mostly under the radar.
But in August, a million cockroaches escaped from a farm in Jiangsu province, making headlines in the Chinese media.
Wang Pengsheng, a 38-year-old former engineer, said he had bought the plot of land to raise the insects after six months of research into the industry.
Wang Pengsheng, a 38-year-old former engineer, said he had bought the plot of land to raise the insects after six months of research into the industry.
He bought more than 80kg of eggs for £10,000 and set up his farm.
But while he was out inspecting the goats and pigs he was raising elsewhere, the local government deemed his building illegal and knocked it down.
"When I came back in the evening, everything was gone, reduced to rubble," he said.
But while he was out inspecting the goats and pigs he was raising elsewhere, the local government deemed his building illegal and knocked it down.
"When I came back in the evening, everything was gone, reduced to rubble," he said.
"Afterwards, a team of exterminators came around to try to kill all the escaped cockroaches."
Mr Wang said he was determined to start again.
Mr Wang said he was determined to start again.
"The problem is that the government has been under pressure from people saying the cockroaches are pests and they should not let me rebuild."
In Jinan, the other Mr Wang said he had heard of the misfortune suffered by his namesake.
In Jinan, the other Mr Wang said he had heard of the misfortune suffered by his namesake.
But, he added, he has not had any recent break outs from his farm.
"In the beginning a few got away. But since we covered all the windows and doors with mesh, they have been well trapped," he said.
Wednesday, 16 October 2013
Farmers are pinning their future on the often-dreaded insect, which when dried goes for as much as $20 a pound — for use in Chinese "medicine" and in cosmetics.
By Barbara Demick
Dried cockroaches are ready to be sold to pharmaceutical companies from a farm in Jinan, China. One farmer says the insects are easy to raise and profitable.
This squat concrete building was once a chicken coop, but now it's part of a farm with an entirely different kind of livestock — millions of cockroaches.
Inside, squirming masses of the reddish-brown insects dart between sheets of corrugated metal and egg cartons that have been tied together to provide the kind of dark hiding places they favor.
Wang Fuming kneels down and pulls out one of the nests.
By Barbara Demick
Dried cockroaches are ready to be sold to pharmaceutical companies from a farm in Jinan, China. One farmer says the insects are easy to raise and profitable.
This squat concrete building was once a chicken coop, but now it's part of a farm with an entirely different kind of livestock — millions of cockroaches.
Inside, squirming masses of the reddish-brown insects dart between sheets of corrugated metal and egg cartons that have been tied together to provide the kind of dark hiding places they favor.
Wang Fuming kneels down and pulls out one of the nests.
Unaccustomed to the light, the roaches scurry about, a few heading straight up his arm toward his short-sleeve shirt.
"Nothing to be afraid of," Wang counsels visitors who are shrinking back into the hallway, where stray cockroaches cling to a ceiling that's perilously close overhead.
Although cockroaches evoke a visceral dread for most people, Wang looks at them fondly as his fortune — and his future.
The 43-year-old businessman is the largest cockroach producer in China (and thus probably in the world), with six farms populated by an estimated 10 million cockroaches.
"Nothing to be afraid of," Wang counsels visitors who are shrinking back into the hallway, where stray cockroaches cling to a ceiling that's perilously close overhead.
Although cockroaches evoke a visceral dread for most people, Wang looks at them fondly as his fortune — and his future.
The 43-year-old businessman is the largest cockroach producer in China (and thus probably in the world), with six farms populated by an estimated 10 million cockroaches.
He sells them to producers of Chinese medicine and to cosmetic companies that value the insects as a cheap source of protein as well as for the cellulose-like substance on their wings.
The favored breed for this purpose is the Periplaneta americana, or American cockroach, a reddish-brown insect that grows to about 1.6 inches long and, when mature, can fly, as opposed to the smaller, darker, wingless German cockroach.
Since Wang got into the business in 2010, the price of dried cockroaches has increased tenfold, from about $2 a pound to as much as $20, as manufacturers of traditional medicine stockpile pulverized cockroach powder.
"I thought about raising pigs, but with traditional farming, the profit margins are very low," Wang said.
The favored breed for this purpose is the Periplaneta americana, or American cockroach, a reddish-brown insect that grows to about 1.6 inches long and, when mature, can fly, as opposed to the smaller, darker, wingless German cockroach.
Since Wang got into the business in 2010, the price of dried cockroaches has increased tenfold, from about $2 a pound to as much as $20, as manufacturers of traditional medicine stockpile pulverized cockroach powder.
"I thought about raising pigs, but with traditional farming, the profit margins are very low," Wang said.
"With cockroaches, you can invest 20 yuan and get back 150 yuan," or $3.25 for a return of $11.
China has about 100 cockroach farms, and new ones are opening almost as fast as the prolific critters breed. But even among Chinese, the industry was little known until August, when a million cockroaches got out of a farm in neighboring Jiangsu province.
The Great Escape made headlines around China and beyond, evoking biblical images of swarming locusts.
Only the prospect of all those lost earnings would faze Wang, a compact man with a wisp of a mustache and wire-rim glasses who looks like a scientist, but has no more than a high school education.
Only the prospect of all those lost earnings would faze Wang, a compact man with a wisp of a mustache and wire-rim glasses who looks like a scientist, but has no more than a high school education.
After graduating, he went to work in a tire factory.
"I felt I would never get anywhere in life at the factory and I wanted to start a business," he said.
As a boy he had liked collecting insects, so he started with scorpions and beetles, both used in traditional medicine and served as a delicacy.
"I felt I would never get anywhere in life at the factory and I wanted to start a business," he said.
As a boy he had liked collecting insects, so he started with scorpions and beetles, both used in traditional medicine and served as a delicacy.
One batch of his beetle eggs turned out to be contaminated with cockroach eggs.
"I was accidentally raising cockroaches and then I realized they were the easiest and most profitable," he said.
The start-up costs are minimal — Wang bought only eggs, a run-down abandoned chicken coop and the roofing tile.
"I was accidentally raising cockroaches and then I realized they were the easiest and most profitable," he said.
The start-up costs are minimal — Wang bought only eggs, a run-down abandoned chicken coop and the roofing tile.
Notoriously hearty, roaches aren't susceptible to the same diseases as farm animals.
As for feeding them, cockroaches are omnivores, though they favor rotten vegetables.
Wang feeds his brood with potato and pumpkin peelings discarded from nearby restaurants.
Killing them is easy too: Just scoop or vacuum them out of their nests and dunk them in a big vat of boiling water.
Killing them is easy too: Just scoop or vacuum them out of their nests and dunk them in a big vat of boiling water.
Then they're dried in the sun like chile peppers.
Perhaps understandably, the cockroach business ("special farming," as it is euphemistically called) is a fairly secretive industry.
Perhaps understandably, the cockroach business ("special farming," as it is euphemistically called) is a fairly secretive industry.
Wang's farm, for instance, operates in an agribusiness industrial park under an elevated highway.
The sign at the front gate simply reads Jinan Hualu Feed Co.
Some companies that use cockroaches don't like to advertise their "secret ingredient."
Some companies that use cockroaches don't like to advertise their "secret ingredient."
And the farmers themselves are wary of neighbors who might not like a cockroach farm in their backyard.
"We try to keep a low profile," said Liu Yusheng, head of the Shandong Insect Industry Assn., the closest thing there is to a trade organization.
"We try to keep a low profile," said Liu Yusheng, head of the Shandong Insect Industry Assn., the closest thing there is to a trade organization.
"The government is tacitly allowing us to do what we do, but if there is too much attention, or if cockroach farms are going into residential areas, there could be trouble."
Liu worries about the rapid growth of an industry with too many inexperienced players and too little oversight.
Liu worries about the rapid growth of an industry with too many inexperienced players and too little oversight.
In 2007, a million Chinese lost $1.2 billion when a firm promoting ant farming turned out to be a Ponzi scheme and went bankrupt.
"This is not like raising regular farm animals or vegetables where the Agricultural Ministry knows who is supposed to regulate it. Nobody knows who is in charge here," he said.
The low start-up costs make raising cockroaches an appealing business for wannabe entrepreneurs, who can buy cockroach eggs and complete how-to kits from promoters.
"People laughed at me when I started, but I always thought that cockroaches would bring me wealth," said Zou Hui, 40, who quit her job at a knitting factory in 2008 after seeing a television program about raising cockroaches.
Wang Fuming, at his farm in Jinan, is the largest cockroach producer in China (and thus probably in the world), with six farms populated by an estimated 10 million cockroaches.
It's not exactly a fortune, but the $10,000 she brings in annually selling cockroaches is decent money for her hometown in rural Sichuan province, and won her an award last year from local government as an "Expert in Getting Wealthy."
"Now I'm teaching four other families," Zou said.
"This is not like raising regular farm animals or vegetables where the Agricultural Ministry knows who is supposed to regulate it. Nobody knows who is in charge here," he said.
"People laughed at me when I started, but I always thought that cockroaches would bring me wealth," said Zou Hui, 40, who quit her job at a knitting factory in 2008 after seeing a television program about raising cockroaches.
Wang Fuming, at his farm in Jinan, is the largest cockroach producer in China (and thus probably in the world), with six farms populated by an estimated 10 million cockroaches.
It's not exactly a fortune, but the $10,000 she brings in annually selling cockroaches is decent money for her hometown in rural Sichuan province, and won her an award last year from local government as an "Expert in Getting Wealthy."
"Now I'm teaching four other families," Zou said.
"They want to get rich like me."
But inexperienced farmers can get into trouble, as Wang Pengsheng (no relation to fellow roach farmer Wang) found out after his cockroaches staged the Great Escape.
He had opened his farm just six months earlier in a newly constructed building that municipal code officials complained was too close to protected watershed land.
But inexperienced farmers can get into trouble, as Wang Pengsheng (no relation to fellow roach farmer Wang) found out after his cockroaches staged the Great Escape.
He had opened his farm just six months earlier in a newly constructed building that municipal code officials complained was too close to protected watershed land.
At noon on Aug. 20, while workers were out for lunch, a demolition crew knocked down the building.
The roaches made a run for it.
"They didn't know I had cockroaches in there. They wouldn't have demolished the building like that if there were cockroaches that would get out," Wang Pengsheng said in a telephone interview.
After discovering the flattened building and homeless roaches scurrying among the rubble, he tried to corral the escapees but was unsuccessful.
"They didn't know I had cockroaches in there. They wouldn't have demolished the building like that if there were cockroaches that would get out," Wang Pengsheng said in a telephone interview.
After discovering the flattened building and homeless roaches scurrying among the rubble, he tried to corral the escapees but was unsuccessful.
He called in local health officials, who helped him exterminate the roaches.
Wang said he has received about $8,000 in compensation from local government and hopes to use the money to rebuild his farm elsewhere.
At least five pharmaceutical companies are using cockroaches for traditional Chinese medicine.
Research is underway in China on the use of pulverized cockroaches for treating baldness, AIDS and cancer and as a vitamin supplement.
South Korea's Jeonnam Province Agricultural Research Institute and China's Dali University College of Pharmacy have published papers on the anti-carcinogenic properties of the cockroach.
Li Shunan, a 78-year-old professor of traditional medicine from the southwestern province of Yunnan who is considered the godfather of cockroach research, said he discovered in the 1960s that ethnic minorities near the Vietnamese border were using a cockroach paste to treat bone tuberculosis.
"Cockroaches are survivors," Li said.
Li Shunan, a 78-year-old professor of traditional medicine from the southwestern province of Yunnan who is considered the godfather of cockroach research, said he discovered in the 1960s that ethnic minorities near the Vietnamese border were using a cockroach paste to treat bone tuberculosis.
"Cockroaches are survivors," Li said.
"We want to know what makes them so strong — why they can even resist nuclear effects."
Liu Yusheng, head of the Shandong Insect Industry Assn. eats fried cockroaches. Liu worries about the rapid growth of an industry with too many inexperienced players and too little oversight.
Li reels off an impressive, if implausible, list of health claims: "I lost my hair years ago. I made a spray of cockroaches, applied it on my scalp and it grew back. I've used it as a facial mask and people say I haven't changed at all over the years.
"Cockroaches are very tasty too."
Many farmers are hoping to boost demand by promoting cockroaches in fish and animal feed and as a delicacy for humans.
Chinese aren't quite as squeamish as most Westerners about insects — after all, people here still keep crickets as pets.
In Jinan, Wang Fuming and his wife, who run the farm together, seem genuinely fond of their cockroaches and a little hurt that others don't feel affection.
"What is disgusting about them?" Li Wanrong, Wang's wife, asked as a roach scurried around her black leather pumps.
Liu Yusheng, head of the Shandong Insect Industry Assn. eats fried cockroaches. Liu worries about the rapid growth of an industry with too many inexperienced players and too little oversight.
Li reels off an impressive, if implausible, list of health claims: "I lost my hair years ago. I made a spray of cockroaches, applied it on my scalp and it grew back. I've used it as a facial mask and people say I haven't changed at all over the years.
"Cockroaches are very tasty too."
Many farmers are hoping to boost demand by promoting cockroaches in fish and animal feed and as a delicacy for humans.
Chinese aren't quite as squeamish as most Westerners about insects — after all, people here still keep crickets as pets.
In Jinan, Wang Fuming and his wife, who run the farm together, seem genuinely fond of their cockroaches and a little hurt that others don't feel affection.
"What is disgusting about them?" Li Wanrong, Wang's wife, asked as a roach scurried around her black leather pumps.
"Look how beautiful they are. So shiny!"
Over lunch at a restaurant down the block from his farm, Wang placed a plate of fried cockroaches seasoned with salt on the table along with more conventional cuisine, and proceeded to nibble a few with his chopsticks.
Over lunch at a restaurant down the block from his farm, Wang placed a plate of fried cockroaches seasoned with salt on the table along with more conventional cuisine, and proceeded to nibble a few with his chopsticks.
He expressed disapproval that visiting journalists refused to sample the roaches.
On saying goodbye at the end of the day, he added a final rejoinder.
"You will regret your whole life not trying them."
On saying goodbye at the end of the day, he added a final rejoinder.
"You will regret your whole life not trying them."
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