Asia cuisine: Japanese insects, radioactive sushi and Korean doggie

In Japan, more and more restaurants offer insect-based dishes. Cricket curry, silkworm sashimi or water bug cider are some entomophagous cuisine revolution offers. You can also buy cakes and snacks made of cricket flour. The Japanese have a rich history of consuming insects – grasshoppers, silkworms and wasps were traditionally eaten in areas where meat and fish were scarce.

Japanese restaurants in China fear a loss of customers and a shortage of seafood due to the discharge of radioactive water from the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. China has already tightened control on Japanese food imports amid concerns about radiation, and ships at Chinese ports have to wait longer before unloading their cargo. Posts and hashtags about radioactive Japanese food that should be boycotted are shared on social media.

In South Korea, dog breeders breeding dogs for meat face increasing pressure to ban the practice. The centuries-old tradition of eating dog meat is neither explicitly prohibited nor legalised in South Korea. Despite the firm resistance of breeders and restaurateurs, public awareness of animal rights and concerns about the country’s international image is growing. According to breeders, about 700,000 to one million animals are killed yearly. 10-20 years ago, there were several million dogs.