Hey,America:Edibleinsectsjustmightbethenexttastytabooheadedforyourplate.

November21,2016ByAmandaPell
WalkintoahighendrestaurantinOaxaca,Mexico,andy oumightseec hapulines,orgrasshoppers,onthemenu.

InMexicoa ndmanyc ountriesa roundtheworld,it'snotunusualtoseea varietyofbugsonthemenu.Chapulinesc anbe

servedc asually,a sbarsnacks,ora sstreetfood,buttheya lsomakea ppearancesinmoreupscalec uisine.

"Plentyofhighendrestaurants,e speciallyinOaxaca,servec hapulines,"saidMylesSnider,a nAmericanc ookwho

trainedinMexicoCitya ndhasworkedinrestaurantsinTulum.

Thea ttitudetowardservinginsectsa sfoodtherediffersfromtheUnitedStates.

"It'sfarmorenormalizedhere,"saidSnider."Ithinkpeoplea cknowledgethatit'sa ninsect,sotheyknowforeignersmight
havereservationsa boute atingit,butmostlypeoplejustrealizethatthey'redelicious."
IntheU.S.,mostofusaren'tusedtoe ncounteringinsectsonthemenu.Couldandshouldtheybecomepart
ofournormalfare?
Ifyou'relikeme,themerementionofe atingbugstriggersa ninstantreactionofdisgust.Butwhatisita boute atingbugs,
exactly,thatweprotest?
Disgustisa responsethatourbodyusestopreventusfromdoingthingsthata rebadforus.We'vebeentaughtsincewe
werec hildrenthatbugsa re"yucky,"sotheideaputtingtheminourmouthsissomethingthatourb odynaturallyrejects.
SoitfollowsthatinWesternc ulture,e ntomophagy(astheprosc allit)hasdevelopeda stigmaa ssociatingitwithpoverty
andpoorlivingc onditions,sincewea ssumethatc ulturesrelyingonwhatwec onsider"yucky"a sa primarysourceof
foodmustbedoingsooutofdesperation.Butthat'snotso!
Therealityisthatinsectsa rea regularpartofthehumandieta llovertheworld,notonlyinlowersocioeconomicstrata.
TheyjusthaventreallybrokentheboundaryontothepalateoftheAmericanpeopleyet.Insectshavea lottooffer,
though,soitmightbeworthc onsideringa ddingthemtoyourgrocerylistthisweek!


Hereare14thingse dibleinsectshavegoingforthem,intheU.S.andabroad.
1.It'smuche asiertofarmc ricketsthanitistofarmc ows.Whilelivestockrequireland,feed,a nde quipmenta llof
whichc ostquitea bitinsectsa rescavengersa ndc anbasicallysubsistontheirown.
2.Insectfarmsc anbescaledtoa nysizea ndc anc onsistofa slittlea sa breathablec ontainer,a damptowel,a ndfood
scrapsorc ompost.Thatmeansthata nyonec anbea ninsectfarmer,nomattertheirfinancialstatus.
3.Sincegeographyisn'ta smuchofa factorininsectfarming,thegrowthpotentialforita sa nindustryisn'tlimitedby
location.Aboomininsectfarmingc ouldbenefitc itiesa smucha srurala reas.
4.Sincethefoodindustryisoftena bletoremainrelativelystableintimesofe conomicc risis,insectfarmingc ouldbring
increasedjobreliabilitytoa reasthata ren'tc onducivetotraditionalfarming.
5.Addinginsectstotheglobaldietc ouldhelpsolveworldhunger.Insectsa rea nutrientrichsourceofproteinthatc anbe
grownlocallyina nye nvironmentnootherlivestockproductorc ropprovidesthesamebenefitsa tsucha lowc ostof
maintenance.
6.Insectfarmingise nvironmentallyfriendly.Sinceinsectsrequiresolittletothrive,theyplacesignificantlylessstrainon
finiteglobalresourceslikegrain,water,a ndreale state.
7.Meatproductionputsa hugestrainontheglobalwatershortageonepoundofbeefrequiresnearly2,000gallonsof
water.Byc ontrast,c ricketfarmerslikeBigCricketFarmsa ssertthatproducinga poundofc ricketsrequiresonlya single
gallonofwater.
8.Thewaterfootprintofc ricketsissosmall,infact,thatsomeplaceslikeBitwaterFarmsa refindingitc anbemetwith
rainwatera lone.
9.AccordingtotheUnitedNationsFooda ndAgricultureOrganization'sm
ajorreportonthetopic,insectsrequireless
feedthana nyothera nimalprotein,likec attlea ndpigs.(Thisfacthasbeenc ontestedspecifictoc rickets,a sa 2015study
foundthatthefeedtomeatratioc anvarygreatlybasedonc rickets'a ppetites.)Feedtomeatc onversionratesa sreflected
bytheFAOe stimateonepoundofe diblebeefrequiresa boutninepoundsoffeed,whileonepoundofe diblec ricketmeat
needsonlya boutonea nda halfpoundsoffeed.
10.Greenhousegase missionsa resignificantlylowerininsectsthaninlivestock.Ina studyoffarmableinsects
(mealworms,c rickets,locusts,c ockroaches,a ndsunbeetles)theinsectswerefoundtoproduceproportionallylessc arbon
dioxide,methane,nitrousoxide,a nda mmoniathanc attleorpigs.Byc ontrast,producingbeefhasbeennotedbyseveral

scientiststobemoreharmfultothee nvironmentthandrivinga c ar.TheW

orldBankc alculatedin2010thatproducingone
kilogramofbeefise quivalenttodriving49milesina c ar.
11.Certaintypesofc ricketsc anhavea bouta smuchore venu ptotwicea smuchproteinc ontenta sbeef,usuallywith
muchlessfat.
12.Insectsc anbebeneficiala sfoodwithoute vermakingittothehumanplate,too.Switchingtoinsectbaseda nimalfeed
tosustainlivestockwouldc utdownonthestrainthatgrainproductionplacesonlanda ndwaterresources.
13.It'spossibletoincorporateinsectsintomealsmoresubtlythansimplyc hompingdownona c icada.Cricketsc anbe
groundintoa proteinflourthatc anbeusedina varietyofways,includingbaking,a sa dietarysupplement,ortoreplace
otherproteinsourceslikesoy.
14.Insectproteinhastheinterestofthestartupworld.In2014,c ricketproteinbarc ompanyChapulscoreda $50K
businessdealwithinvestorMarkCubanon"SharkTank."O
therinvestorsa refollowingsuite arlierthisyear,a similar
energybarc ompanyc alledE
xoraised$4millioninitsfirstroundoffunding.
Insectsmaybeontheirwaytoc onqueringtheworldmarkets,butthere'sonedrawback:Rightnow,insectproteinisstill
costprohibitiveforwidespreaduse.Sincethenumberofpeoplefarmingc ricketsisstillrelativelyfew,themarketpriceof
apoundofharvestedc ricketsisstillprettyhigh:Apoundc ostsmanufacturersa bout$45.Thatpricewouldneedtofallby
abouthalftomakeitc ompetitivewithlivestockmeats,soy,a ndotherproteinsubstitutes.
SodoesthismeanourInstagramfeedswillsoonbefullofdelectablec ricketandgrubfoodc reations?
It'spossible!Insectsa rentthefirstfoodsourcethatwereoncec onsideredtabooinourc ountry.Rawfishusedtostrike
Americansa sdisgusting,toountilthesushic razehitinthe1960s.Thee xactc auseforitsriseisunclear,butitslikely
thatithadtodowiththewhirlwindofc hangethatwasovertakinga nationripefortryingnewthings.Therestaurant
Kawafukuopenedin1964a ndquicklybecamea LosAngeleshotspot.Asc elebritiesbegana doptingthe healthyfood
trend,sushia ppearedinmetropolitanc itiesa nde ventuallymadeitswaya crossthec ountry.
Couldthesamethinghappenwithinsects?There'snothingstoppingit.SpecialtyrestaurantsinNewYork,LosAngeles,
andChicagoa lreadyservedisheslikefriedgrasshoppers,a nte ggsalads,a ndsilkworms.Andthoughyouwon'tfindthem
herea tstreetstandsorinbars(yet),youdon'tneedtotraveltoMexicotogetyourhandsona c hapuln,e ithermany
authenticMexicanrestaurantsservetheOaxacandishstateside.
Sowhileinsectsstillhavea waystogobeforetheyc onquertheUnitedStates,they'redefinitelygainingtraction.Anyone
witha na dventurouspalatea nda desiretobea headofa trendwoulddowelltoheadtotheirlocale ntomophagiste atery
andtrythemout.Itc ouldbeonlya matteroftimebeforeinsectsa rethenextmusthavedininge xperience.