Cicadas - The Other, Other White Meat

[Guest guest]

For the Anton 's among us:

Cicadas: Good Enough to Eat?

http://discuss.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/zforum/04/metro_gordon041604.htm

Cicada: The Other, Other White Meat

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16047-2004Apr15.html

[Guest guest]

I just found this:

" Think twice before you eat one of the Brood-X cicadas. That's the

latest warning from researchers who have found surprising levels of

mercury in these insects. The cicadas emerge once every 17 years, and

their recent emergence throughout the Eastern United States has

prompted a variety of sources to recommend eating them for an unusual

delicacy. But researchers say they have found significant levels of

mercury in some of the cicadas, with some of the levels reaching

those in fish that have earned government warnings. Similar to the

recent warnings on fish, the researchers have recommneded that

humans, and particularly pregnant women and children, limit the

amount of cicadas they eat due to mercury concerns. The next step is

to determine if the mercury is natural to the cicadas, or if it is

due to man-made pollution.

Science Daily June 1, 2004 "