What's Not On The Menu: Sea Turtle Eggs
If you're waiting for a bowl of that nice sea turtle egg soup (kidding!), don't hold your breath. Authorities arrested 6 people last week suspected of trying to sell 52,000 of the little buggers in southern Mexico. The logistics alone boggle the mind -- 52,000 eggs about the size of ping-pong balls, concealed in plastic bags -- that's quite an omelet.
Not surprisingly, harvesting and selling the eggs is highly punishable, and with all 7 species of sea turtles listed under the Endangered Species Act, eating them is less popular than ever, at least in the U.S. Plus, who could eat Crush and Squirt? Yet apparently police seize thousands of the eggs at markets in Mexico every year, where both sea turtles and their eggs are considered a delicacy.
According to an article published in the journal EcoHealth, in some Latin American countries sea turtle dishes are often served at special occasions including weddings, Mother's Day, Christmas and Easter, while the eggs are especially coveted as an aprodisiac.
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