Entomophagy – the practice of eating insects.
In most parts of the world the eating of
insects is common practice. More than 100 species
of bug are eaten in four-fifths of the world.
Those of us in the western world have been slow to embrace insects as a
source of protein – nevertheless there are compelling economic, environmental
and food-security arguments for changing this mindset.
Consider the efficiencies of scale. Cultivating insects is a much more efficient
mechanism for converting plant material into meat than traditional ranching of
cattle. A pound of beef requires ten
times the plant material inputs than what is required to produce a pound of
insect protein. Moreover, insects
require only a tiny fraction of the water resources. There are also the efficiencies of energy
inputs. Our six-legged friends enjoy higher
food conversion efficiency than pork or beef.
Insects have an energy input to protein output ratio closer to 4:1 while
four-legged livestock is roughly 54:1.
The
most common insect that finds its way into the human food pyramid is the cricket. Typically dried and milled into cricket flour
it finds its way into baked goods, pasta, protein bars and more. Strange you say? Don’t leap to conclusions. Insects might very well enjoy a significant
niche in your future food consumption habits.
Consider this - if you enjoy crawfish or lobster – why not
crickets?
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