Bugs are Back on the Menu

Image Credit Dish a Day

Wayne Roberts writes in Alternatives about a major food group that most westerners (but only a 20% minority of people on the planet) are missing out on: insects.

With fusion dishes all the rage, and fooderati clamoring for adventurous ways to blend all the world’s food traditions in one appetizer, it’s only a matter of time before honeyed grasshopper with a watermelon reduction makes the culinary hit parade. French-born chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, the toast of high-end fusionista, just tested an ant larvae salad for his global restaurant chain’s first Mexican eatery. Sometime soon, customers at old-fashioned greasy spoons will complain: “Waiter, there’s no bug in my soup.”

Roberts continues:

Environmentalists and conservationists should be big on bugs. Edible insects don’t appear on any endangered species lists, and their sustainable use could help conserve other wildlife since the tactic may contribute to habitat protection. Insects also have an excellent feed-to-meat ratio. Living low on the food chain, they consume much less feed per pound of human nutrient than farmed fish or livestock. Forests don’t have to be cleared, fields don’t need to be ploughed or irrigated, and crops don’t require toxic sprays to protect habitat capable of attracting large concentrations of insects so that they can then be efficiently harvested.

He concludes by asking:

As we enter an era of scarcity imposed by climate chaos and the exhaustion of renewable and non-renewable resources, could bugs offer one form of salvation? ::Alternatives Journal

Other articles by Wayne Robers that we have noted:

Water: Saving the Planet One Drop at a Time

What's In A Name?

Give Peas a Chance: How Gardening Can Effect Change :