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French Set To Shell Out More For Snails (Escargots, N'est Ce Pas Alert)
BBC News ^ | 7/6/2008 | Hugh Schofield

Posted on 07/06/2008 12:41:24 PM PDT by goldstategop

Producers warn the price of snails - one of France's more exotic foodstuffs - is about to soar, because of economic development in eastern Europe.

France consumes more than 14,000 tonnes of snails every year but practically none of them are actually French.

With the most prized species now under protection, the industry relies on central and east European imports.

But economic progress in countries like Poland and Bulgaria means less appetite for the hard work of snail-gathering.

Until now, every year rural families there could earn a decent wage from collecting the animals in the fields and woods.

So the companies which buy the snails are putting up their salaries in order to keep their employees, which means they are going to have to put up their prices in order to stay solvent.

With only a few snail farms still active in France itself, mainly in the hills of Burgundy, the French Federation of Preserved Food Industries is warning that the days of cheap snails are over.

It is a lesson in global economics that lovers of Escargots a la bourguignonne are going to have to live with.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bbcnews; escargots; foodsupply; france; inflation; snails
That prized French delicacy - the escargot is going to get a lot more expensive. Mon Dieu!

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

1 posted on 07/06/2008 12:41:24 PM PDT by goldstategop
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To: goldstategop

Properly prepared, they are tasty little devils, even better than the curly fries at Hardee’s.


2 posted on 07/06/2008 12:54:37 PM PDT by centurion316 (Democrats - Supporting Al Qaida Worldwide)
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To: centurion316
Only a few species of snails have palatable flesh. And these are usually farm grown to make sure their diet doesn't include matter that could end up in their stomachs toxic to humans. Alas, all the edible species in France are under strict protection.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

3 posted on 07/06/2008 12:58:01 PM PDT by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever)
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Large garden slugs are just as tasty. You can catch them with beer.


4 posted on 07/06/2008 1:02:09 PM PDT by CH3CN
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To: CH3CN
You can catch them with beer.

That's how I catch rednecks!

5 posted on 07/06/2008 1:12:31 PM PDT by Mr Ramsbotham (Barack Obama--the first black Jimmy Carter.)
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To: goldstategop

Don’t they have snail farms? Ranches, maybe?

Snails would herd at such a leisurely pace, I can see where round-up could be a little slow. But there would no trouble dropping a lasso on one of them, and branding would go pretty smoothly, as the snails don’t struggle all that much. Just a mark on the outside of the shell.


6 posted on 07/06/2008 1:15:19 PM PDT by alloysteel (A taxpayer voting for Obama - is like a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders.)
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To: alloysteel
Yes, they do. The animals are fed a grain diet to keep the flesh pliable and clean. And then they're picked and prepared for packaging. The best snails in France belong to the genus Helix aspersa. They're also endangered because they're edible.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

7 posted on 07/06/2008 1:22:48 PM PDT by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever)
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To: goldstategop
The California "garden snail" is in fact the famous French escargot, transplanted by French immigrants in the 1880's. They're easy to raise, eager to reproduce, and would make a fine American export to France.

I ate my first escargot in Pasadena in late 1978 during an evening when it snowed in that area of Southern California. (It was an unusual evening, so I chose an unusual food.) Those escargot escarwent and were escargone in a speed much faster than a snail's pace.

8 posted on 07/06/2008 1:23:40 PM PDT by Publius (Another Republican for Obama -- NOT!!)
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To: Mr Ramsbotham

Yeah, it is an attractive bail all right. Minor problem. Just toss out the unconscious rednecks and keep the slugs when you check the traps.


9 posted on 07/06/2008 1:24:11 PM PDT by CH3CN
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To: CH3CN

That’s bait. Not enough beer, yet.


10 posted on 07/06/2008 1:25:47 PM PDT by CH3CN
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To: goldstategop

The Clark AFB O’Club in the RP had escargot on the menu for $1.00 per dozen, but that was back in 1973. (I wonder where they got those snails back in the PI? But then they had a lot of foods you didn’t want to ask questions about.)


11 posted on 07/06/2008 1:40:18 PM PDT by Nakota
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To: goldstategop

Why did the Frenchman paint an S on his car?

Because he wanted to see the S car go.


12 posted on 07/06/2008 3:35:13 PM PDT by saganite
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To: goldstategop
from the article: "....is warning that the days of cheap snails are over."

"The days of cheap snails." I have to admit, that's a phrase I never thought I'd see.

13 posted on 07/06/2008 3:44:06 PM PDT by NewJerseyJoe (Rat mantra: "Facts are meaningless! You can use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true!")
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To: Publius

Lets use American know how to make snails a new export crop for America. We could sell them as “Fast Food” to the Democrats at the Convention.


14 posted on 07/06/2008 4:51:56 PM PDT by Forward the Light Brigade (Into the Jaws of H*ll)
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To: goldstategop

Thanks for posting this ... I need to place an order for several cans. Yum!


15 posted on 07/06/2008 4:55:14 PM PDT by JustaDumbBlonde ("When the government fears the people there is liberty ... " Thomas Jefferson)
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To: goldstategop
Until now, every year rural families there could earn a decent wage from collecting the animals in the fields and woods.

Totally news to me. I thought they all came from snail farms.


16 posted on 07/06/2008 6:46:22 PM PDT by TheMole
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