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MAJOR NATIONS IN A GLOBAL WORLD: BRAZIL
good substitute for fish and monkey meat. People will often drive hundreds of
miles each year to the town of Silveiras, 190 miles (306 km) from São Paulo, to
buy the ants. Those living in the town serve the delicacy with traditional Bra-
zilian dishes. These are no ordinary ants, however. They are a species called
içás
, which can grow up to an inch in length. The
içás
are very fat and have
been known to bite.
POISONOUS CONSEQUENCES
Pesticides threaten many species of Brazilian ants, including the
içás
.
For the last several years, the ant population has been
dwindling
as
humans use these poisons on eucalyptus trees, which are planted for paper and
other products. On the other hand, in the South American country of Colombia,
many people are exporting queen ants to France, Britain, and other countries,
where diners dip them in chocolate.
Most Amerindian cooks still roast meat on wooden skewers and put other
dishes in earthen holes lined with leaves. Cooks light a fire over the holes to
cook the meal.
Traditional Brazilian
churrasco
, cooked on spits over an open fire.