Would you eat a grasshopper kebab or a deep fried Scorpion? I’ve always fancied trying an insect when visiting parts of the world such as Thailand where they are considered a delicacy. However, I have always wimped out, preferring to be convinced by my various companions that it is a VERY BAD IDEA. According to a story in The Observer, they are now at the forefront of the battle for saving the planet.
In 2008, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), held a conference to discuss the possibility of promoting insect consumption and there are plans for a world congress in 2013. 80% of nations eat over 1,000 varieties of insects. They are most popular in the tropics where they grow to large sizes and are easy to harvest. Due to Western cultural influences, these practices are on the decline, so the first goal of The FAO is to reignite interest in this type of food.
Livestock such as sheep, pigs and cows occupy two-thirds of the worlds farmland and generate 20% of the greenhouse gases that are driving up the global temperature. As our population increases, so is our protein consumption. We eat more than 50% more meat than we did twenty years ago and figures suggest that it could increase by up to 40% by 2050.
Professor Arnold van Huis, an entomologist at Wageningen University in Belgium and consultant to The FAO published research that shows that farming insects produces far less greenhouses gas than livestock – so could we be eating deep fried house spider and mozzie with our chips anytime soon?
I jest, but with a level of seriousness – why not? If you eat shrimps, you are eating sea insects and we consume microscopic insects in grains. Studies on the levels of vitamin B12 on life-long vegan Tibetan monks showed no levels of deficiency. As B12 is only found in animal products, the researchers were baffled, until they discovered the insects residing in the rice.
Insects are actually nutrient powerhouses, they have high vitamin and mineral levels and as they are cold blooded they convert plant matter into protein very efficiently. They are a superfood in the sense that you get more bang for your buck. Van Huis also argues that the health risks are lower because they are free range and lower in the food chain so you don’t get the ‘added extras’ that you do from intensive farming. You only have to read Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser or Felicity Lawrence’s ‘What’s not On The Label’ to get an idea of the shocking feeding practices of the conglomerate food producers.
I’m sure you’re scrunching your face up in disgust right now, but consider this – lets just say; a new type of burger comes on the market. It is hailed as the new superfood, high in protein, vitamins and minerals. It looks and tastes like a falafel, it is served with humous and a nice crispy salad in a pitta. Would you eat it? I would definitely as it doesn’t have the look or shape of an insect, and the deep fried aspect is always one of the key off putting factors for me.
The other option they are considering is to introduce insects into animal feed so we get the goodness second hand and also to reduce the dependency on grains for feed. But why not go for the primary source? I reckon, with some perseverance, it could be done, but we need a major supermarket to put their weight behind it here – or get a delicacy movement going. By the way, for those intrepid food explorers, whoa re intrigud, there is a company that supplies insects for human consumption – Osgrow – run by Paul Cook in Bristol.
Insect staples across the world
Australia: Witchetty grubs are a traditional part of the Aboriginal diet
South Africa: Cornmeal porridge is given a protein boost from locusts
Mexico: Toasted grasshoppers or agave worm on tortilla anyone?
Japan: Sweet tooths are satisfied with candied grasshoppers
Columbia: Snack on fried and salted ‘fat-bottomed’ ants
Thailand: Deep friend crickets, beetles and ants
Papua New Guinea: cook sago grubs in banana leaves
Image via Ben Yapp's Flickr