Eating the bugs?

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.

• in 2013, UN tried to encourage people to eat more bugs
• bugs are still part of the cuisines of a lot of the world
• bugs for food can be raised in tiny spaces with minimal resources
• the main issue is Western countries where bugs are seen as icky (but then we’ve also lost track of where our food comes from and are grossed out by simple organ meats) – we still do shrimp and crayfish and lobster but only because we refuse to see them as bugs
• one sideline that came out of the paleo community – our bodies have a “genetic library” of digestive enzymes, but it is also common for our body to “forget” enzymes (ex. lactase) through lack of use, but apparently our body never forgets chitinase (the claim being that chitin was such an integral part of our diet for so much of our evolutionary history) – side effect of this is yes, you can quite easily consume those shrimp tails rather than pushing them off to the side of your plate

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.

Might be a convenient talking point, but imho plant-based should definitely be the priority.

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?

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.

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?

Chapulines are absolutely delicious and I would definitely recommend if you can find a proper Oaxacan place that serves them.

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.

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.

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)

Ive had good experiences with some pan fried grubs

@Doctorolo 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 have plans to try and eat some cicadas next time we get a big emergence.

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.

https://www.xtremefoodies.com/north-america/Washington%20D.C./review/Oyamel-Cocina-Mexicana/Grasshopper-Tacos/10631044

Bugs are always a trophic level above plants. It's always more efficient to 'cut out the middle man' and eat plants instead.

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.

I definitely do not want to… I‘d rather die, sorry. To each their own, but if everything else became unaffordable and I‘d be left with bugs, you‘ll find me smuggling veggies and growing them in the city parks, or on company properties or wherever I can find space.

Gross. No thanks.