What's the Buzz on These Bugs!

Many people find the very thought of insects disgusting, especially when they're in your food. The sense of eating insects has nothing to do with the actually eating quality; it’s simply a cultural norm that insects are “icky”. But have you ever considered that insects could be nutritious, environmentally friendly, and more abundant than other foods. Insects are rich in protein, fats, and other vitamins and minerals. They are also low in fat and contain large amounts of fiber. We already eat exotic foods like alligator, animal intestines, snails, octopus, and lamb. There’s no reason we shouldn’t include insects into our diet.

​EVERYONE ONE ELSE IS ONE BOARD

Many people around the world have incorporated insects into their diets. In Mexico, grasshoppers are sold by the pound in markets and fried before being eaten. Colombians grind and spread ants on their  bread. In Papua New Guinea, moths, dragonflies and beetles are boiled or roasted over an open fire (Kouřimská & Adámková, 2016). In Cambodia, they sell fried crickets, silkworm, tarantula, and scorpions by the buckets as street food. Insects are the most valuable, underused, and understated food and yet we in the West are not using it to our advantage.

THEY ARE NUTRITIOUS

Although these little critters may seem small, they pack a punch. The amount of energy found in insects can vary by hundred of calories per gram which is more than your normal beef or chicken. These insects even pack more protein than your average supermarket brown rice. Compare 100 g of crickets to 100 g of chicken, beef, or pork, and you'll find they have comparable protein content, but crickets are much higher in essential vitamins and minerals such as zinc, calcium, and iron (Oonincx & de Boer, 2012). In addition, insects like meal worms are low in fat, and contain large amounts fiber. Grasshoppers have 20 grams of protein and just 6 g of fat per 100 g. Insects can be an extraordinary resource for the world especially countries who suffer from food insecurity and malnutrition (Oonincx & de Boer, 2012).

​THEY TAKE UP LESS SPACE

The global population is expected to increase in the future years which means that the demand for food will escalate along with it. With climate change on the rise and the current state of the environment, there is a need to conserve our natural resources especially land and water (Kouřimská & Adámková, 2016). Insect farming can be a more sustainable practice because insects don’t need much space, they are able to live under all sorts of conditions and easy to feed (De Prins, 2014). It is easy to farm them on a large scale without damaging the environment. Consuming insects as opposed to livestock is more environmentally require less energy, less feed, less land and water, they produce less gases such as methane and ammonia, and they are less likely to transmit infections to humans compared to livestock (Tao & Li, 2018).

​IT'S ALREADY IN OUR FOODS

​You might be surprised to know how often we eat insects on a regular basis. The Food and Drug Administration permits a certain percentage of insects in food products. They allow this because it is economically difficult to keep insects completely out. Insects in these products are deemed harmless (Tao & Li, 2018). For example, 100 grams of chocolate can contain up to 60 insect fragments - such as heads, bodies or legs per 100 g are permitted. Even peanut butter is allowed to contain roughly 30 insects fragments. Even your beloved beer can contain 250 aphids per 100 g.

The idea of eating insects may literally be hard to swallow, as processing technology evolves and our mindsets adapt, maybe insects will become the super-food of the future. Look out Greek yogurt and kale! There are some new kids in town.

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References 
De Prins, J. (2014). Book review on Edible insects: Future prospects for food and feed security. Advances In Entomology, 02(01). doi: 10.4236/ae.2014.21008

Jaynie Tao, Yao Olive Li; Edible insects as a means to address global malnutrition and food insecurity issues, Food Quality and Safety, Volume 2, Issue 1, 6 March 2018, Pages 17–26, https://doi.org/10.1093/fqsafe/fyy001

Kouřimská, L., & Adámková, A. (2016). Nutritional and sensory quality of edible insects. NFS Journal, 4, 22-26. doi: 10.1016/j.nfs.2016.07.001

Moffit, M., & Brown M. (2014, June 24. Should We All Be Eating Insects. [Photograph] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iM8s1ch5TRw&t=104s

Oonincx, D. G. A. B., de Boer, I. J. M. (2012). Environmental impact of the production of mealworms as a protein source for humans—a life cycle assessment. PLOS ONE , 7: 1–5
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Oonincx, D., van Itterbeeck, J., Heetkamp, M., van den Brand, H., van Loon, J., & van Huis, A. (2010). An Exploration on Greenhouse Gas and Ammonia Production by Insect Species Suitable for Animal or Human Consumption. Plos ONE, 5(12), e14445. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0014445

The Lion King. [Photograph] Dir. Rob Minkoff, Roger Allers. Perf. James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Jonathan Taylor Thomas. Walt Disney Pictures, 1994. DVD.