Editing Guinea pig (section)

=== As livestock ===<!-- This section is the target of an [[internal link]] from [[Taboo food and drink]] -->

==== In South America ====
[[File:Cuy or guinea pig, from the restaurant Fogon de los Abuelos in Matus, Ecuador.jpg|thumb|Dish from [[Ecuador]] called ''cuy'']]
[[File:Cuy Peruvian dish.jpg|thumb|A [[Peruvian cuisine|Peruvian dish]] made with ''cuy'']]
Guinea pigs (called ''cuy'', ''cuye'', or ''curí'') were originally domesticated for their meat in the Andes. Traditionally, the animal was reserved for ceremonial meals and as a [[delicacy]] by indigenous people in the Andean highlands. Still, since the 1960s, it has become more socially acceptable for consumption by all people.{{sfn|Morales|1995|page=47}} It continues to be a significant part of the diet in Peru and Bolivia, particularly in the Andes Mountains highlands; it is also eaten in some areas of Ecuador (mainly in the [[Geography of Ecuador#La Sierra (the highlands)|Sierra]]) and in Colombia,{{sfn|Morales|1995|pages=xxvi, 4, 32}} mainly in the southwestern part of the country ([[Cauca Department|Cauca]] and [[Nariño department|Nariño]] departments). Because guinea pigs require much less room than traditional [[livestock]] and reproduce extremely quickly, they are a more profitable source of food and income than many traditional stock animals, such as pigs and cattle;<ref name="Africa">{{cite journal|last = Nuwanyakpa|first = M.|title = The current stage and prospects of guinea pig production under smallholder conditions in West Africa|journal = Livestock Research for Rural Development|date=November 1997|volume = 9|issue = 5|url = http://www.lrrd.org/lrrd9/5/gp951.htm|access-date = 2007-04-16|display-authors=etal}}</ref> moreover, they can be raised in an urban environment. Both rural and urban families raise guinea pigs for supplementary income, and the animals are commonly bought and sold at local markets and large-scale municipal fairs.{{sfn|Morales|1995|pages=32–43}}

Guinea pig meat is high in [[protein]] and low in [[fat]] and [[cholesterol]], and is described as being similar to rabbit and the dark meat of [[chicken (food)|chicken]].<ref name="cbs" /><ref name="csmonitor">{{cite news|last = Mitchell|first = Chip|title = Guinea Pig: It's What's for Dinner|work = The Christian Science Monitor|url= http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1101/p04s01-woam.html|date = 2006-11-01|access-date = 2007-03-12}}</ref> The animal may be served fried (''chactado'' or ''frito''), broiled (''asado''), or roasted (''al horno''), and in urban restaurants may also be served in a [[casserole]] or a [[fricassee]].<ref name="morales2">[[#Morales|Morales]], pp. 48–67.</ref> Ecuadorians commonly consume ''sopa'' or ''locro de cuy'', a soup dish.<ref name="morales2" /> ''[[Pachamanca]]'' or ''[[huatia]]'', an [[earth oven]] cooking method, is also popular, and cuy cooked this way is usually served with [[chicha]] (corn beer) in traditional settings.<ref name="morales2" />

==== In the United States, Europe, and Japan ====
Andean immigrants in New York City raise and sell guinea pigs for meat, and some South American restaurants in major cities in the United States serve ''cuy'' as a delicacy.{{sfn|Morales|1995|pages=xvii, 133–134}}<ref name="yamamoto2"/> In the 1990s and 2000s, La Molina University began exporting large-breed guinea pigs to Europe, Japan, and the United States in the hope of increasing human consumption outside of countries in northern South America.<ref name="cbs" />

==== Sub-Saharan Africa ====
Efforts have been made to promote guinea pig [[animal husbandry|husbandry]] in developing countries of [[West Africa]],<ref name=Africa/> where they occur more widely than generally known because they are usually not covered by livestock statistics. However, it has not been known when and where the animals have been introduced to Africa.<ref>Blench, R.M. 2000. African minor livestock species. In: Blench, R.M. and MacDonald, K.C. [https://books.google.com/books?id=sM2WZg3u5iQC&pg=PA314 The origins and development of African livestock: Archaeology, genetics, linguistics and enthnography]. University College London Press, London, UK; pp. 314–338 {{ISBN|1-84142-018-2}}.</ref> In [[Cameroon]], they are widely distributed.<ref>{{cite journal|pmid=9719838|year=1998|last1=Manjeli|first1=Y|last2=Tchoumboue|first2=J|last3=Njwe|first3=RM|last4=Teguia|first4=A|title=Guinea-pig productivity under traditional management|volume=30|issue=2|pages=115–22|journal=Tropical Animal Health and Production|doi=10.1023/A:1005099818044|s2cid=17847427}}</ref><ref>Ngou-Ngoupayou, J.D., Kouonmenioc, J., Fotso Tagny, J.M., Cicogna, M., Castroville, C., Rigoni, M. and Hardouin, J. 1995. [http://www.fao.org/ag/aga/agap/frg/feedback/war/v6200b/v6200b08.htm Possibilités de développement de l'élevage du cobaye en Afrique subsaharienne: le cas du Cameroun] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126123432/http://www.fao.org/ag/aga/agap/frg/feedback/war/v6200b/v6200b08.htm |date=2012-01-26 }}. World Animal Review (FAO/AGA) 83(2): 21–28</ref> In the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]], they can be found both in peri-urban environments<ref>{{cite journal|pmid=17966272|year=2007|last1=Bindelle|first1=J|last2=Ilunga|first2=Y|last3=Delacollette|first3=M|last4=Kayij|first4=MM|last5=Di m'Balu|first5=JU|last6=Kindele|first6=E|last7=Buldgen|first7=A|title=Voluntary intake, chemical composition and in vitro digestibility of fresh forages fed to guinea pigs in periurban rearing systems of Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo)|volume=39|issue=6|pages=419–26|journal=Tropical Animal Health and Production|doi=10.1007/s11250-007-9036-y|hdl=2268/19482|s2cid=33303439|url=http://orbi.uliege.be/handle/2268/19482}}</ref> as well as in rural regions, for example, in [[South Kivu]].<ref>Maass, B.L., Katunga-Musale, D., Chiuri, W.L., Zozo, R. and Peters, M. (2010) [http://www.tropentag.de/2010/abstracts/full/491.pdf Livelihoods of smallholders in South Kivu depend on small livestock: the case of the "cobaye"].</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Metre, T.K.|year=2011|url=http://www.rural21.com/uploads/media/Small_healthy_highyielding_01.pdf|title=Small, healthy, high-yielding|journal=Rural21 – the International Journal for Rural Development|volume=45|issue=1|pages=40–42 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005155855/http://www.rural21.com/uploads/media/Small_healthy_highyielding_01.pdf |archive-date=October 5, 2011}}</ref> They are also frequently held in rural households in [[Iringa Region]] of southwestern [[Tanzania]].<ref>
BACAS (Bureau for Agricultural Consultancy and Advisory Service). 2007. [http://www.cepf.net/Documents/UnileverTea_Tanzania_Tech_Report.pdf Analysis of the extent of human pressures and impact on natural forests of UNILEVER Tea Tanzania Limited (UTT)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928061503/http://www.cepf.net/Documents/UnileverTea_Tanzania_Tech_Report.pdf |date=2011-09-28 }}. Final Report, BACAS, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania
</ref><ref>Matthiesen et al. (2011) [http://www.tropentag.de/2011/abstracts/links/Matthiesen_llDdf2DY.pdf Importance of guinea pig husbandry for the livelihood of rural people in Tanzania: A case study in Iringa Region.] Tropentag, October 5–7, 2011, Bonn.</ref>

==== Peruvian breeding program ====
[[File:Ollantaytambo-cuy.jpg|thumb|271x271px|Guinea pigs raised as [[livestock]]]]
Peruvian research universities, especially [[La Molina National Agrarian University]], began experimental programs in the 1960s intending to breed larger-sized guinea pigs.{{sfn|Morales|1995|page=16}} Subsequent university efforts have sought to change breeding and husbandry procedures in South America to make the raising of guinea pigs as livestock more economically sustainable.{{sfn|Morales|1995|pages=16–17}} The variety of guinea pig produced by La Molina is fast-growing and can weigh {{convert|3|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.<ref name="yamamoto2"/> All the large breeds of guinea pig are known as ''cuy mejorados'' and the pet breeds are known as ''cuy criollos''. The three original lines out of Peru were the ''Perú'' (weighing {{convert|800|g|abbr=on}} by 2 weeks), the ''Andina'', and the ''Inti''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zaldívar |first=Ing Lilia Chauca de |date=October 31, 1997 |title=Producción de cuyes (Cavia porcellus) |url=http://archive.org/details/bub_gb_VxLVzsZ5HWcC |publisher=Roma : Organización de las Naciones para la Agricultura y la Alimentación |via=Internet Archive}}</ref>