The August 15 issue of the New Yorker includes a story about eating bugs and all the great things entomophagy (bug-eating) could do for the world. Many readers probably reacted like me at first glance, with disgust. (Although the photograph included in the opening pages of the article is kind of adorable -- the image is attached here.) However, start reading and the pro-bug argument begins piling up: honey is the vomit of a bee, and we eat that with pleasure. Eighty per cent of the world includes insects on the menu -- that puts us squeamish North Americans in the minority, with our taboo against insect eating."From an ecological perspective, insects have a lot to recommend them," the article reads. Considering the heavy ecological toll that meat production has cost us thus far, we can only imagine how much worse it will get with increasing population and demands to feed that population. Factory farms producing beef and pork consume massive amounts of water and produce massive amounts of waste. Bugs are "are about four times as efficient at converting feed to meat as are cattle." Insects are an excellent alternative to our current protein sources.The article also draws on examples of formerly taboo foods being marketed in such a way that they gained popularity, as with sushi. To refute the concept that bugs are dirty, the experts quoted point out that some vegetarian bugs have much cleaner diets than things we currently eat, bottom feeders like lobster and crab. There are lots of great arguments found in this article, and I'm persuaded that bugs may be the future of food -- but not persuaded enough to bake myself some chocolate chip and cricket cookies. What do you think? Would you eat bugs?
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