Snail Farming

Snail farming, formally called heliciculture, is the process of raising edible land snails, primarily for human consumption or cosmetic use; the meat and eggs can be consumed as escargot and as a type of caviar, respectively. Commercial snail farming in the Western world typically uses snails in the family Helicidae, particularly Cornu aspersum, formerly known as Helix aspersa, while snail farming in tropical climates is typically carried out with the African snail, whose meat is highly valued and widely consumed. The best-known edible land snail in the Western world, Helix pomatia, commonly called the Roman snail or Burgundy snail, is not suited to profitable farming and is normally harvested from the wild instead. The term heliciculture is used for raising snails for any commercial purpose, most often escargot and cosmetic applications, but it can also refer to the cultivation of sea snails such as whelks.