What warms you up better than a nice bowl of ?

Tweeters,

So we all know that bird's nest soup, which in some asian cultures is
the first dish of every grand dinner and makes a wonderful gift,
doesn't have many sticks in it. The nest is made largely from swiftlet
(Collocaliini) spit. 20,000,000 plus swiftlet nests are sold a year
globally, for about $1000 a pound. Some are attempting to "farm"
rather than harvest them. The swift saliva may also have big time
medical importance. It may help in the fight against HIV by promoting
cell division in the immune system.

There is a lot of money involved here, and I could find very little
information on conservation efforts. In theory the nest is removed
only after the young have departed.

Larry Schwitters
Issaquah

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