Food security is a significant issue and you can help by adding one ancient food to your diet.
Become an Entomophagist!
Here’s the definition of Entomophagy. The odds are that you’ll read this and then stop reading further due to unwarranted cultural fears.
en·to·moph·a·gy /ˌentoˈmäfəjē/ noun
The practice of eating insects
Insects are an essential and ancient food source. They are nutritious, sustainable, environmentally friendly, and raised humanely. Yet, here in the West, we look at them as survival food, or worse, food of the poor.
This attitude is having negative effects worldwide at a time when we need to increase the use of insects as food and decrease the growing consumption of cattle and other livestock. Because we don’t embrace eating insects here in the West, the practice of eating insects is declining worldwide when it needs to be increasing dramatically.
We revere steak so much that the younger generation in many countries emulate us and order steak as a sign of status. Since they see how we revile insects online, on TV, and in our movies, they are moving away from them. Traditional food sources that are nutritious and very accessible are being abandoned.
We need to embrace insects as food for the sake of our children. Our world population will increase by 50% during their lifetime, and supplying meat is not possible. It’s already a very serious problem. Considering the rising demand, we can not continue to produce meat the way we do today, for many reasons. Insects as food is one answer.
Making Entomophagy a trend here in the West will change the current trajectory and make eating insects more popular worldwide. Doing this will reduce the demand for traditional meat and help limit the destruction it’s causing. We need to adopt insects into our diets for many reasons.
A few key points are listed below.
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- Food Insecurity: Edible insects are available to just about anyone anywhere. They can be grown in homes, small farms, and large commercial enterprises.
- Inhumane Treatment of Livestock: Insects raised for food can be grown and harvested humanely without the need for growth hormones and antibiotics.
- Deforestation: Two-thirds of the deforestation taking place in the Amazon is for beef. Insects can be grown humanely just about anywhere, in rural and urban areas. You can even raise insects in old warehouses.
- Pollution: Fertilizers, manure, and pesticides are major causes of land, water, and air pollution. Livestock is responsible for around 14 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.
- Land & Water Resources: Two-thirds of our potable water and over a third of our arable land is used for livestock. As our population increases by 50% in the near future, finding solutions to this is imperative.
- Our Health: Edible insects are a real animal protein that includes all nine essential amino acids; they’re a prebiotic fiber (nutrition for probiotics), very high in antioxidants, a perfect Omega 3:6 balance, high in B12, Calcium, Zinc, Iron, and more. Insects are also a very bio-available food source.
So, if we make edible insects a trend here in the West, it will benefit people all over the world. Edible insects are available to just about anyone anywhere, and they are a low-tech business as well.
If this talk of eating bugs gives you the willies, you’re not alone. But, please recognize that it’s an unwarranted cultural fear. Billions of people all over the world eat bugs. It’s just us, Europe, and Australia that are being weenies. The rest of the world enjoys ento-cuisine.
It’s easier than you think.
Insects taste good. However, we must admit, popping a whole bug in your mouth may not be as convincing as it should be. I love whole roasted Jalapeno Garlic crickets, but I’m used to eating bugs. Cricket powder is the easiest way to begin your entomophagy journey since it doesn’t look like a bug. It’s just a super nutritious, protein-packed, all-natural powder.
For the best initiation into Entomophagy, try to find a restaurant that serves dishes with Black Ants or Chapulines. They’re becoming more common due to the awareness of chefs on our need to begin changing eating habits to literally save the world.
Chefs Are The Answer!
There are over 2,000 insects considered food and each one tastes different.
Eating a whole dry roasted cricket isn’t going to change as many minds as biting into a delicious Chapuline Taco, a salad sprinkled with Black Ants, or trying Tenebrio topped Pizza. Incorporating insects into foods we already eat is the natural way to win fans.
As the world population grows and our children grow into adults, insects must play a major role in combating food security worldwide. Because food insecurity is a major cause of strife and war.
So, once you try a dish with insects included, shout about it. Tell your family and friends, post about it online. Help spread the word. It will have a positive impact and our world needs that right now.
Kid’s love to cook with bugs and most kids have little problem eating them. Especially when they’re covered in chocolate! Everybody loves chocolate-covered bugs.
There are over 2,000 different insects known to be food, and every one of them tastes different. What an opportunity for vanguard chefs!
Entomophagy is The Greatest Culinary Revolution of Our Time
Make a meal using edible insects and enjoy not only the conversation it creates but also the inevitable social media posts. People love to talk about their edible insect experience. They’ll never forget the entomophagy meal you prepare for them.
The conversation, at dinner and online later, is what’s needed to change our attitudes towards insects as food. This will not just benefit us as we discover a whole new nutritional food group, but it will also benefit the world. Making insects popular here will reverse the trend and make them more popular worldwide.
This is also personal. By the time my kids are my age, there will be half again as many people on our planet. Food insecurity is a major cause of strife and war.
Now that you’re educated on the benefits of adding insects to your diet, please Become an Entomophagist and begin cooking with insects for family and friends. It’s one step towards resolving the food security issues we face.
Good for You | Good for Our Planet
