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Insects For Dinner?!
< < Back toIn America, when most people think of food, they think of breads, meats, desserts or pizza.
However, in other countries, it ism common to consider insects a delicacy.
In a video article on TED.com, Professor of Entomology at Wageningen University in the Netherlands Marcel Dicke explains that approximately 80 percent of the world’s nations already eat more than 1000 insect species.
This number may be shocking, but according to U.S. News article America is one of a few countries that has not fully accepted insects as a part of the daily diet.
One of the reasons for this is the American mindset; the idea of eating insects is worse than the act of consumption.
U.S. News reported that insect-eating has gained quite a following, and it has even spread wildly in Vancouver.
According to the report, insect eating has always been common in Asian countries such as Thailand, China, India and Japan.
Popular foods that feature insects as the main dish include the following: chocolate-covered grasshoppers, cricket-topped pizzas and ice creams with blended with insects like chocolate chips.
According to the Director of Communication for the Ohio Department of Agriculture Erica Pitchford, when the insect eating trend catches on in Ohio, the department will make sure producers follow food regulations.
Ohio University Junior Therese Montecalvo weighs in on the subject of eating insects.
“I’m not sure if I would ever eat a bug plain, but if there was some chocolate with it, I would try it. I don’t think it’s any different than eating cow, in an odd sense, if you really think about it. However, I did have a chocolate dipped cricket once, and it was pretty good,” said Montecalvo.
Junior Elyse Runkel, however, has a different view.
“I know that it shouldn’t be considered disgusting because other cultures eat insects, but I personally think it’s repulsive and would never want to put a cricket in my mouth… under any circumstances,” Runkel said.
According to food-insects.com, most insects contain more than 60 percent protein. Insects also pack rich sources of iron, copper, zinc and contain various amounts of good fat necessary for healthy brain function.
According to TED.com, 70 percent of farmland is used for meat production.
If this trend continues, it will prove unsustainable for the rate of population growth in the world.
Livestock is the largest source of greenhouse emissions, including methane and nitrous oxide, while insects have a much lower environmental burden.