ust the cricket: Eating insects is good for us and for the environment, scientists claim

www.thisislondon.co.uk ^ | June 2, 2008 | staff at www.thisislondon.uk

[givemELL]

Experts believe they could one day be marketed as a healthy alternative to fatty snacks.

In most of Europe, bug-eating is largely restricted to the belated realisation that there has been an unwelcome addition to the salad.

It is common elsewhere, however, with some 1,700 species of bug eaten in 113 countries.

In Taiwan, stir-fried crickets or sauteed caterpillars are delicacies. A plate of maguey worms - larvae of a giant butterfly - sells for £12.50 in smart Mexican restaurants.

Sago grubs wrapped in banana leaves go down well in Papua New Guinea, as does dragonfly in Bali.

In many parts of south-east Asia market stalls sell insects by the pound and deep-fried snacks are served up as street food.

Insects are arthropods, much like crab, shrimps and lobster which are all accepted by the European palate. In North Africa locusts are sometimes called sky prawns.

But Patrick Durst, of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, said that if consumers were to be tempted to broaden their culinary horizons the trick might be to make the bugs look more palatable.

'You need to get the food into a form where someone doesn't have to look the bug in the eye when they eat it,' he said.

Earlier this year the Food and Agriculture Organisation held a conference to discuss how entomophagy - eating insects as food - could contribute to sustainable development.

Bug-farming preserves forests - which are needed to attract insects - and is encouraged in some countries.

As for pesticides, some experts have pointed out the irony of using chemicals to get rid of bugs that are more nutritious than the crops they prey on.

In Thailand when pesticides failed to control locusts, the government urged locals to eat them and distributed recipes.

[givemELL]

We already get lots of 'black' specks, insect parts, in our instant grits packs already....we don't usually notice. The third world and military special forces have been onto this a long time. For a gagg, I used to see 'candied' ants and grasshoppers and crickets as a kid...they weren't bad. The stuff must still be around. Not affordable though. US cereal makers may take this seriously and offer us more bugs at even a higher price.....unnoticed bug flakes are currently free...noticed, advertised bugs will cost a pretty penny.

[Jeff Chandler]

I'm in.

[brytlea]

I've always wondered why western countries have found bugs unpalatable, while most other cultures eat some sort of worms/grubs/insects/etc. They would be a great source of cheap protein. However, like most Americans, I can't get past the idea (although I know we eat them every day in our prepared food—somehow it's not quite the same as eating stir fried crickets).
susie

[BibChr]

Are they low-carb?

[wolfcreek]

I’m holding out until I can’t afford to go the the grocery store.

Actually had a friend who wanted me to start a bug farm with him.

[isrul]

May I suggest the staff at “thisislondon” partake in a steaming bowel of feces?

[the_devils_advocate_666]

“ust” you, too!

[xcamel]

Me too!

[fanfan]

Foodie ping.

(of a sort)

[massgopguy]

Maybe one day the United States of America will be on the cover of National Geographic.

[xcamel]

more to do with bugs being non-kosher than anytyhing...

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Back in 1958 on a tour of Thailand, my mom ordered Pud Thai, a noddle dish, in an upscale hotel in Bangkok. It was served with sauteed honeybees.

[wolfcreek]

“Earlier this year the Food and Agriculture Organisation held a conference to discuss how entomophagy - eating insects as food - could contribute to sustainable development.”

It’s a scam to outlaw meat.

[brytlea]

That explains it.
Of course, I don’t think bottom feeding seafood is kosher (crabs, shrimp) is it? We love that!
susie

[posterchild]

I’d expect that, based on anecdotal sidewalk and windshield observations, most insects have a low muscle to ‘guts’ ratio and I sure wouldn’t want to spend my time wielding a tiny fillet knife on such critters.

[Rebelbase]

Another environmental maxim declared in the attempt to revert civilization back to the stone age.

[Sacajaweau]

Yeh....I like my bugs BIG!!

[wendy1946]

What about crows? There’s no shortage of crows in America and there’s likely as much meat on a crow as there is on a game hen or small chicken...

[brytlea]

LOL
susie

[Beagle8U]

Crawdads is as close to bug as I’m willing to eat.