Could you see yourself eating cooked insects?
Like many other people who have grown up not being accustomed to insect eating, I had a negative knee Jerk reaction when I initially heard that thought: ‘Eating Insects? Gross! No way would I do that!’
Yet the more and more I learn about the benefits and psychology behind bug eating, the more open I am finding myself on this matter. It also seems that this attitude among non-insect eaters is slowly but surely changing, as more and more of us are opening up to insect consumption. When you look at the positive aspects of insect consumption, then you’d probably be able to understand the gradual change of attitudes.
So in this first blog post of mine I am going to make the case that Entomophagy (a fancy word for bug eating) is something we should open up to.
Health Factors
There have been a number of studies done to determine the health benefits of bug eating, and such studies support the notion that eating certain bugs can have a wide array of health benefits — they are all low in fat and carbohydrates, yet they are also nutritional. If you’re having a picnic and ants are invading, you should consider inviting them onto your plate for eating instead of shooing them away since they have 10–15 grams of protein. Likewise with Grasshoppers, let them hop right onto your plate since they have between 16–28 grams of protein. And of course that ‘hopping right onto the plate’ is a bit of stretch since these insects are typically cooked and seasoned. I bet many people will be surprised to learn that Crickets and Caterpillars are packed with more protein than Chicken & Steak!
Environmental Factors
Not only are insects comparatively nutritious to chicken & steak, but they are also far more environmentally friendly. Chickens & Cows need up to 1000 times more water than insects do in order to be raised. Insects also (understandably so) require a lot less maintenance to raise than cows and chickens. With cows & chickens you have animal hair, bones, and blood that you have to separate from the meat. This is not the case for many bugs, as you can just simply put a few in a frying pan, cook it for a few minutes, and it is ready to eat.
Psychological Factors
On top of all that, I’d like to reiterate the simple fact that us Americans simply have a psychological stigma towards consuming bugs. Even with all the environmental and health factors in mind, many people will just simply say ‘Nope. Don’t care. Not eating bugs. End of Story’.
Think of that same mindset from a reverse psychological perspective: If someone grew up eating insects his/her whole life, but one day heard that other people around the world eat chicken & meat, that person would most likely have a stigma against eating chicken & meat, the same stigma that us Americans have against eating bugs. So if we could put our stigmas to bed and just simply give bug eating a shot then we’d probably open the door for a new cuisine to flourish :)
So… with all that said, do you think you’d trying sampling a bug or two? Have you already? And if you firmly believe that you will never sample an insect can I hear your rationale? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
