Why you can, should, and probably will eat bugs
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Version 0 of 1. Insects are really good for you. They're a low-fat source of protein, full of nutritious goodness and carry a much lower carbon footprint than other sources of meat. Confession: I haven't tried eating them yet. But I will, and probably soon, and I'm willing to bet that you will, too. Why? Because all the cool kids are doing it. This year seems to be the year of the insect farming start-up. In the coming months, your options for dining on creepy crawlers are set to explode. Crickets, in particular, are featured in a whole host of new products -- they're easy to raise en masse, and can be ground down into an innocuous "flour" (really, it's more like protein powder that doubles as leavening). There are cricket chips and protein bars to chew on, not to mention whole bugs, kept crispy and covered in tasty seasoning. According to a recent study, the first people to jump on the bug-eating bandwagon will be young, adventurous men. But some have taken issue with that conclusion, and with good reason -- the actual movement around insect palatability has been pretty diverse. And remember, it's really only the western world that finds insect-based grub so unappealing: In 2013, the United Nations even issued a report telling us off for it. You can take a tour of one of the companies pushing cricket flour over at The Verge. And if their tale of eating cricket tacos churns your stomach, just remember: You're probably eating bugs pretty often, anyway. You might as well enjoy the crunch. View Photo Gallery —The U.N. estimates that the world population will reach 9.6 billion by 2050. Some experts view insects as a sustainable source of food for a growing global community. |