That really sucks.

There is some kind of stupid atmosphere in TV reporting these days.

Now, If you watch the Travel Channel you see the chef, Zimmern, who goes and eats all kinds of nasty stuff.....O.K. you signed up for that one.

There was a segment where Mary Carrillo went to a road side eatery and brought back some scorpions on a skewer for Bob Costas. He picked up the skewer and twirled it around before he went to commercial...

It's like the dog, boll weevils and all the other stuff they eat. plus it goes back to how we view what they eat.

How does an Indian look at us when we do a nice fat hamburger?
How does a Korean look at us when we walk a dog?
A Peruvian when we treat a guinea pig as a pet?

I can's see eating anything like a scorpion or rat. I do -not very fondly -accept their choices of food,
But I do agree with you that taking a televised culinary trek into the back alleys of China/Beijing, in search of some not-so-common meal is not what they were there for.

To so graphically show the process, when all you and I want is some diving, swimming or table tennis is really stupid and shows how television execs and the people who direct and produce segments of a sporting event like the Olympics will stoop to tossing in a good Fear Factor moment.

Just to make sure you are paying attention.