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It has one of the same inherent inefficiencies as animal meat: they need to eat something to grow. Therefore we need to use a lot of resources to produce a lot of food for them to eat, before we can eat them.
It always seems much more efficient to use those resources to grow food for us to eat directly. Also, getting Americans to eat a vegetable is slightly easier than getting them to eat a bug.
I think the "magic" of bugs is that they can eat things that would be inedible or unhealthy for other omnivores (like pigs). If we can convert some of our food and paper waste into protein and chitin, it might be worth the investment.
This only works for small farms but regular animals already fill that spot there too. Chicken and pigs are mainly fed kitchen scraps in these settings. The issue is once you go into large-scale commercial farming it becomes way too inefficient to use waste products and buying feed is more economical viable. Doesn't matter if it's insects or mammals or.
A lot of animal feed is already made up of a lot of "food waste". Rice bran, maize and wheat offal, fish meal, and bone meal, all of that are byproducts of food for human consumption and commonly found in animal feed. You can even find some that have things like sawdust or other wood products inside. There are even studies into using waste paper for cattle. And while this might sound wrong, it doesn't harm the animal. But the issue is, humans don't want to eat something that ate something we don't like. And I don't see that changing with insects either.
For me the exciting part about bug farming isn't really their use as food (for humans or animals) but more their potential to eat "real" waste (like things that birds and mammals shouldn't eat) and then be turned into non-food items - like chondroitin or have other derivatives made out of their chitin.
Right now it's not very efficient but with some selective breeding (or faster, GMO mealworm gut bacteria) they could start working on the landfill issue. Their poop would have to be incinerated since it would concentrate flame retardants and other toxins, but we might be able to get something useful out of them.
edit: i have a box of mealworms that I wanted to try feeding just styrofoam to to see how many generations it would take to have mealworms that thrive (not just survive and turn to cannibalism) on the stuff, but i felt bad, now they eat kitchen waste and shredded paper.
1 is they're a lot more efficient at producing calories vs calories eaten compared to larger animals, and insanely more water efficient. And 2, which varies by insect, is what they eat and the results of it. Many insects eating habits have positive impacts on environmental health and are sought after for that purpose. Earthworms are a famous example, but there are all kinds of insects that play a composting role in nature, eating decaying organic matter and converting it into nutritionally rich soil for plants. Pollinators are another example.
I think whenever news articles talk about bugs they always show a gruesome picture of someone taking a bite, as though eating beef would be a person carving right into the animal. Yes, some cultures do eat bugs, but this is unlikely to be the form factor in which most people would eat them.
Cochineal is a food safe dye made from insects, used in cosmetics and beverages. There are probably other examples, but overall I would expect that insect derived foods would be ground and eaten like powders or patties in the west.
I’ve eaten a few things made with powdered crickets. They were ok. I think treating it as a protein powder and adding it to baked goods makes the idea of eating “bugs” more palatable for most people.
This! I don't know how I would feel about the texture experience of eating whole insects, but using them in stuff as a powder seems very doable.
Cricket flour isn't bad at all. It adds a burnt toast flavor that works best in heavier spiced baked goods. I've made this recipe a few times for halloween and challenged people to "eat bugs" and everyone who tried it has liked it. I do make sure they don't have a shellfish allergy first.
I bought some of the little flavored crickets you can get, I got cheese flavor and bbq flavors. They're not bad, they remove the legs so it's just a little morsel, they taste a lot like sunflower seeds. I don't think I'd be opposed working them into my diet if I needed to.
Just use a plant based protein powder then. That's what I don't understand, why bugs when you could use soy or peas or some other plant based protein source? It's even more efficient, no animal cruelty, and not "icky" at all.
Might be a convenient talking point, but imho plant-based should definitely be the priority.
I think this is a good alternative on paper, but aren't we in the sixth mass extinction and isn't the insect phyla the largest at risk?
The bugs would be cultivated outside the natural population & would likely be common species with no risk of extinction. Plus they have a much smaller carbon footprint than many meats, so might help us end the current human imposed mess.
I think it's a good bandaid but I don't think it's a perfect solution. I haven't seen information on feed and slaughter. Maybe you can help me locate a source.
For sure! Heres a link to a pdf on cricket cultivation based on farms in thailand that have been raising crickets for a few decades.
Tldr is they eat veggie scraps and most of their waste makes great fertilizer when applied correctly.
Edited to add: i agree its not a perfect solution, but i do think its a useful option :)
I appreciate the link! And maybe they could help with recycling and waste treatment. However, I feel like if the world suddenly decided insects replaced livestock corporations will eventually want to be involved. That is where the ethics starts to dwindle. Production feed is usually not nutritional. It will need to make them grow big and quick and I don't think scraps will cut it. Or what an insect contained an "abnormality" of some sort. We'd be killing the whole stock and then some to correct the issue which is cruel. I understand they are going to die anyways but some insects are intelligent in their own ways and the fear of death is something majority of animals share.
Thats super fair. The ethics of eating something like bugs is definetly a complex discussion & for some people eating any kind of animal is off the table.
& I 100% agree that moving to bug protein would do little to nothing to challenge mega corporations & the damage they cause to both people and the environment.
I dunno eating bugs isnt some magic fix, & there are arguably higher priority issues -- but I still think its neat that there are people out there exploring different ways of doing things & looking for even small steps towards a more sustainable future.
Yes! I am all about looking at things at different perspectives :). I'd say it's a very important tool to help each other learn and solve problems. And sometimes we need to hold each other's hands to make the bigger steps. I want a sustainable future yesterday loll. 😭
sameee lol I want a chance to live in the nice future, with the fresh veggies and the clean air. just gotta try and get there one step at a time
I bought some fried mealworms for my pet rats. I've tried them, they aren't bad. They don't really taste like anything. They just crunch. I had a pleasure of eating fried beetles. They taste like shrimp.
Meat is meat. If you eat meat, why don't you eat bugs?
Exoskeletons are harder to remove than bones
I've eaten quite a few things with bugs. Mostly powdered and in something else -- cricket bread is quite good and very high protein. Grasshopper too. Even black fly casings can be ground up and added into things (though I wasn't as big a fan).
I think insects are a good option for low cost protein. They can be cultivated vertically, and don't require as many resources as some other proteins. I think they add some nice nutrient diversity to diets trying to limit meat consumption. Plant proteins are great, but you can only eat so many forms of soy before it starts messing with your body.
I hope it catches on more. I think once people see and try products where the bug body isn't as noticeable, they'll get over some of their 'ick' factor.
Chapulines are absolutely delicious and I would definitely recommend if you can find a proper Oaxacan place that serves them.
A friend of a friend brought back a couple bottles of some seriously amazing homemade mezcal from a trip to Oaxaca. He also brought back a couple bags of Chapulines to pair with.
He would ONLY share the mezcal with you if you tried the Chapulines with it.
It was an interesting experience. The seasonings on them were delicious, the texture... took a bit to get used to.
Tried mealworm, crickets and a few others.
Pretty terrible tastewise imo, not worth it past the novelty stage.
I don't really see the point honestly, I'd rather we stabilize our population rather than find ways to accommodate exponential growth a bit longer. We're hitting that wall eventually.
When I used to live in Florida, we'd go once a year to visit the Keys and eat some "bugs" - they were Caribbean Spiny Lobsters. If you think about it, they are pretty closely related - insects and crustaceans. If you are ever confronted with the option to tuck into a big bowl of insects, consider it like a big bowl of shrimp! (full disclosure: I have not had this option, this is only my intellectualization of how to think about it. It is related to my intellectualzation of pretending spiders are crabs, to overcome arachnophobia - though this only extends to not screaming when touched by a spider rather than trying to catch spiders to eat them)
It quite common in some parts of the world. I tried it a few times and its not bad, but I wouldn't go out of my way to get it.
Ive had good experiences with some pan fried grubs
I've eaten --cricket-- grasshopper tacos at a restaurant in Washington, DC. The crunchy texture was honestly great. My only complaint was that the spice/sauce they used to prepare them was too salty. I think with a more restrained spice blend, it would be something I'd be happy to eat on the regular.
Edit: I was mistaken. They're grasshoppers, and apparently the saltiness is part of their natural flavor.
I ate fried grasshoppers at a place in DC years ago and I could never remember the name! Thank you!!
I have plans to try and eat some cicadas next time we get a big emergence.
@Doctor_olo I personally would not. My spouse and I are vegetarian and I think we would stick with that. We are not dogmatic about it but I think that one can get all the protein they need from plants, pulses, and dairy. But if other's want to try, power to them.
I mixed feelings about this. The thought of eating bugs sickens me. I am extremely phobic of most insects and can't stand the thought of them anywhere near my mouth. If there were a way of eating them where nothing about the food resembled an insect, then maybe it would be ok.
I'm vegetarian so I wouldn't try an insect meal anyways.
Bugs are always a trophic level above plants. It's always more efficient to 'cut out the middle man' and eat plants instead.
Gross. No thanks.