What is "heliciculture"

n. snail farming

Heliciculture, also known as heliculture, commonly known as snail farming, is the process of raising land snails specifically for human use, either to use their flesh as edible escargot, or more recently, to obtain snail slime for use in cosmetics, or snail eggs for human consumption as a type of caviar.

Perhaps the best known edible land snail species in the Western world is Helix pomatia (also known as Roman snail or Burgundy snail). This snail is located throughout much of Europe. Helix aspersa, being next most known, were found originally in the Mediterranean region. Helix aspera are now common in many parts of North America, Central America, and Australasia.