Glutinous (also known as sticky) rice is more popular in the Northeastern and Northern regions of
Thailand than steamed rice (17); in certain rural areas, specific insects may be consumed, including red ant, silk worm larvae, and crickets. Characterizations of the food culture of Thailand’s regions are as follows (18):
Theravada (meaning the teachers of the elders) Buddhism, the oldest form of Buddhism, is practiced by 97% of Thailand’s population (11). Buddhists are fundamentally vegetarian, as the religion prohibits eating animal meat. They follow a set of rules known as the Five Moral Precepts; these rules include no killing, no stealing, no sexual misconduct, no lying, and no ingestion of intoxicants (19). Multiple religions state that killing is wrong, but some exceptions—such as self-defense or nutritional necessity—are deemed acceptable in certain religions. Buddhism, however, completely disallows such exceptions.
