J.B.
Yes you can eat the sprouted ones. I've never found it to affect the flavor. You can also plant them - they'll grow into a plant. Sometimes they will grow a new bulb directly, which you can harvest and eat, and sometimes they'll grow flowers, which you can harvest the seeds from and plant those seeds later.
Here's a tutorial:
http://www.anktangle.com/2011/03/growing-sprouted-onions....