It has found that crickets, grasshoppers, and cornflowers contain five times more antioxidants than freshly squeezed orange juice. [4] What if I say eating insects is going to be a popular diet soon?
Experts say it would be good for the planet and for our health to consume more arthropods instead of four-legged ones.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, there are more than a thousand edible insect species in the world, but it will be a long time before insect-eating becomes a popular lifestyle.
The introduction of foreign cuisine is a decades-long process, and so are insects.
In four-fifths of the world’s countries, insect-eating is common. At most exotic restaurants in the West include locusted tacos and deep-fried silkworm larvae, such as New York’s Toloache or Santa Monica’s Typhoon. Tomorrow, there will be no cricket-based protein slice or insect flour chocolate biscuits on the shelves of the small polar midfield.
Entomophagy is not a nasty skin disease, so it’s called insect-eating, which is a very fashionable topic nowadays. It gradually scares us to eventually all of us need to eat arthropods and crawlers because animal husbandry is slowly becoming unsustainable.
Insects are considered delicacies in many countries, but in Western culture, the majority would still be disgusted to run away from the table if a waiter puts a bowl of crickets or silkworms in front of them. But some scientists say arthropods have a future in gastronomy. Excessive consumption of meat causes serious damage to the land, which could be mitigated by treating it with insect-eating.
Eating Insects Protects the Environment
More than two billion people consume arthropods daily, explains Alan-Javier Hernández-Álvarez, a food science major at the University of Leeds. In many countries of Asia, Africa and South America, locusts, caterpillars and other crawlers are delicious. Insect control is only a part of Western culture, although nowadays some gourmet and hipster restaurants and food companies have begun to include fried silkworms and cricket-based protein in the US for gourmets.
The rearing of ruminants, especially cattle, is a major contributor to the release of greenhouse gases, particularly methane, into the atmosphere. And because of the growing demand for meat, livestock farming consumes more land every year. In contrast, cornflower and cricket breeding produce up to 10 times less harmful material and a much smaller area.
According to a 2017 study, if half of the world’s meat consumption was replaced by insects, the amount of land used for agriculture would be reduced by a third, but the number of harmful gases released into the air would be significantly reduced. [1] Besides, some point out that insect breeding requires much less water and space, such as cattle or poultry farming. [2]
The future lies in the insect-based lab, says Natalie Rubio of Tufts University in Massachusetts. Through various methods, scientists can harvest cells from living insects and artificially produce parts for consumption. So you don’t even have to kill the insects to serve as a treat. By the way, beef and poultry are already experimented with by similar methods.
Insect Eating Diet Has a Good Effect on Health
The arthropod diet is beneficial not only for the environment but also for your health. Valerie Stull, a researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who has been eating insects regularly since she was 12, recently demonstrated the positive effects of crickets and beetles on the body. [3]
The meat of edible insects is full of useful nutrients – protein, vitamins, fiber, and amino acids. Research has found that crickets, grasshoppers, and cornflowers contain five times more antioxidants than freshly squeezed orange juice. [4] Stull’s experiment has shown, among other things, that cricket flour helps to develop beneficial intestinal bacteria and reduces the risk of inflammatory bowel disease.
Although many in the Western Hemisphere still consider it impossible to eat beetles, arthropod gastronomic industry is growing.
Today it is a $ 55 million annual industry, which is projected to swell by 44 percent by 2024. [5] According to Matthew Ruby, a psychologist at La Trobe University in Australia, in the past that European food culture has embraced dishes previously considered disgusting by the public, such as raw fish from Asian cuisine, which is now popular.
Many people consume insects without even knowing it!
Many everyday products, such as various spices and vegetables, can contain tiny fragments of beetles on plants. According to surveys, the average American resident consumes one kilo of beetle residue every year unknowingly. One of the most popular uses for arthropods in the future may be insect-based flour, which is full of protein and healthier than the traditional cereal-based version. Our grandchildren may be snacking on crackers and cakes already made with cricket flour and snacking on grasshopper protein slices for snacks.
However, Insect Eating Diet Can Be Risky
A recent report by the Washington-based World Resources Institute (WRI) on how to deal with future food problems does not even mention insect nutrition. [6] The scientists who compiled the report left out arthropods and focused on a plant-based diet rather than an alternative to eating meat.
On the one hand, plant nutrition is much more accepted and well-known in Western culture, says Richard Waite, author of the study. Therefore, a much easier alternative for consumers than insect eating diet. On the other hand, crop production consumes fewer resources than insects, for example, insects, like farm animals, need to be constantly fed.
Finally, experts have pointed out several hazards associated with insect-eating diet. [7] Many people may be allergic to insects, while others cannot digest the chitin that forms the insect’s shell. Also, the conditions under which the farmed insects are kept are no different. They may be infected by bacteria, fungi and other parasites that are harmful to humans due to poor hygiene.
Others express concern that we do not know exactly the ecological consequences of insect breeding. [8] If mankind began to feed on arthropods much more than at present. The increased demand would lead to a huge surge inbreeding. It means that the number of insect species would drastically increase, which the environment would suffer. It is also important what are the potential risks of introducing non-indigenous insect species to a foreign country with industrial purposes.
So? How do you like the beetle diet? Would you try it? Feel free to share your opinion in the comment section.
If you are interested what are the most trending in 2020 check out my article: Click here!
All of these issues must be confronted and resolved before industrial-scale insect breeding can begin. It is not known how arthropod gastronomy will spread in the future, but experts say the idea should not be rejected. Would you like to see crickets or beetles on your plate?
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Sources:
[1] Could consumption of insects, cultured meat or imitation meat reduce global agricultural land use?
[2] Possibilities for Engineered Insect Tissue as a Food Source
[3] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-29032-2?source=post_page—————————
[4] Antioxidant Activities in vitro of Water and Liposoluble Extracts Obtained by Different Species of Edible Insects and Invertebrates
[5] Edible Insects Market Size By Product (Beetles, Caterpillars, Grasshoppers, Bees, Wasps, Ants, Scale Insects & True Bugs), By Application (Flour, Protein Bars, Snacks), Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook, Application Potential, Price Trends, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2018 – 2024
[6] CREATING A SUSTAINABLE FOOD FUTURE: FINAL REPORT
[7]Oxford Academic -The Journal of Nutrition
[8] Approaching Ecological Sustainability in the Emerging Insects-as-Food Industry
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