The Case for Entomophagy

[Music]

one

fateful january morning during freshman

year i

awoke with a burning question on my mind

why haven’t i ever eaten an insect it

was

admittedly a bizarre craving but the

thought

bugged me all day so i texted my mom

can i get some crickets to eat i was met

with

silence so i followed up with

is that a no to which she replied

crickets replete with an emoji to make

sure we were on the same page

i said yes and she still bewildered

asked like in a cereal bar

and i sat like crickets like in a jar

and then she said can we talk

once she made sure i hadn’t lost my mind

she ordered me a little jar of crickets

and i awaited their arrival eagerly when

i finally received the package ready for

pick up email

i ran all the way to the mail room and

back to saint monica hall

to crack them open and share them with

friends

they were admittedly a little surprised

at first

but almost everyone i offered them to

tried one

and they made great snacks

i wasn’t at all surprised that bugs had

amazed me yet again

after all i’ve always loved insects

back in my science olympiad prime i

competed in

entomology an enthralling test about

insects

and brought home regional gold not once

but twice big day for me as you can see

i know the latin names for all the

orders of insects i still scoop up

lanternflies and praying mantises to

this day

i even own a field guide to the insects

of north america

i brought it with me for good luck and

if you think

i’m crazy now is a great time to tell

you that there is a villanovan

willingly dating me all jokes aside

i’m here today to make the case for

entomophagy

entomophagy derived from the greek words

entomon

meaning insect and fagin meaning to eat

refers to the practice of

eating insects at first this was going

to be a cut and dry

talk about eating insects it would have

sounded something like

you should try crickets they’re really

good for you lots of fiber

and everyone would have left here like

was it

just me or was the bug girl super

weird so instead of calorie counting

insects

i’m going to give you some critical ways

bugs can make us better humans

because i think they can do a lot more

than just give us our daily

helping of protein before we can jump

into that though we need to address some

big questions

question one how long have people been

eating insects

actually since prehistoric times

back when we were still hunter-gatherers

we watched animals forage for

protein-filled insects

and we did the same eating beetles

locusts grasshoppers termites and even

dragonflies

we even have cave paintings from tens of

thousands of years ago

depicting humans eating insects isn’t

that incredible

okay question two do people still eat

bugs today

besides on survivor yes

despite entomophagy dying down once we

started growing crops and raising

livestock

insects are still consumed by over 2

billion people

in over 80 percent of the countries

around the globe

despite being taboo in north america and

europe entomophagy is a common practice

in central and south america

africa asia and even australia

it even serves as a powerful tool for

meeting the food needs

of developing nations think for a moment

how easy it is to raise crickets as

opposed to raising

cows crickets take up practically no

space

they can sustain themselves off of

composting scraps and a little bit of

water

and they reproduce really quickly which

means you can end up with a ton of food

quickly and for a low cost this can

serve as a powerful tool for meeting the

food needs of developing nations

and countries with increased populations

according to the united nations food and

agriculture organization

there are over 1900 edible species

and we’re bound to add a lot more to

that list as we keep exploring

not to mention insects can be cooked all

sorts of different ways

from dried to fried to boiled to baked

okay question three are insects

safe to eat yes the blanching and

cooking

process makes them totally safe not to

mention

insects pose a much lower risk of

infecting us with zoonotic diseases than

other forms of livestock

you may be thinking are you sure they’re

safe

i’m positive these are grasshoppers

see perfectly fine

if you don’t want to smart start with

whole insect you can always start small

with insect powders pastes and flowers

that can be added to other dishes

if you’re still reluctant it may help to

know that you’ve

probably eaten insects before if you’ve

ever had a bar of chocolate or a

spoonful of peanut butter

you’ve likely eaten insects don’t shoot

the messenger

but fda regulations permit 3.5 ounces of

insect fragments

in every 100 grams of both chocolate and

peanut butter

insect fragments are natural defects and

impossible to remove completely

so you’ve already eaten insects safely

although unintentionally

okay question four are insects

good for you yes they are after all

packed with protein and fiber and they

contain essential micronutrients like

vitamins and minerals

insects can contain up to 80 percent

protein

making them a great substitute for other

forms of livestock

insects even surpass other meats in

certain aspects

they contain more mineral iron and less

fat than beef

okay question five so if entomophagy is

such a widespread practice

why don’t we do it here in the u.s well

according to the food and agriculture

organization it’s purely cultural

the origins i’ve discussed are rooted in

culture so

if you grimaced when you first heard me

say the phrase eating insects

it’s because doing so is not a common

practice here in the west

we associate insects with sensations

such as

gross dirty and crunchy so admittedly i

am fighting a bit of an uphill battle

here

but our cultural norms shift all the

time

lobster a quasi insect of the sea was

such a cheap and copious food from the

colonial era onwards

that prisoners who ate it every night

were considered to be facing

a cruel and unusual punishment

its transformation into a delicacy makes

me confident that this is a change we

could feasibly make

as our cultural norms shift all the time

so with our newfound knowledge of how

powerful of a tool

insects can be let’s move into the

surprising things they can do for us

first they can make us more sustainable

consumers

compared to all other forms of livestock

insects are less of a strain on the

environment and

cut down on resource consumption

remember the contrast i drew earlier

between raising crickets and raising

cows

let’s see how it holds up crickets need

a fraction of the land food and water

that cows need

they also utilize their feed incredibly

efficiently

with two kilograms of feed producing

nine kilograms of insects

as opposed to just one kilogram of beef

not to mention the sustainability

generated by the type of feed given to

the insects

while cattle farmers need to utilize

additional resources such as land and

water to grow grain for the cows

crickets can be sustained largely off of

agricultural waste

we already have by raising insects

we can cut down on resource consumption

and efficiently utilize our waste

moving on to water producing a kilogram

of crickets requires about 2 000 liters

of water

producing the same amount of beef

over a hundred and twenty thousand

liters of water the numbers speak for

themselves

taking a quick look at greenhouse gas

emissions there are only a handful of

edible insects that produce methane as a

byproduct

whereas cattle produce a ton of

greenhouse gas

in fact the production of a single

kilogram of beef

is near equivalent to the emissions

produced by a 250 kilometer drive

that’s about two pounds for 155

miles if you’re trying to convert in

your head

a cultural shift to include insects in

our diet would greatly reduce the carbon

emissions caused by raising livestock

slowing the increase in global

temperature caused by climate change

making this shift even partially would

certainly require some time and

convincing

but entomophagy is undeniably a better

move for us

and our planet looking forward the food

and agriculture organization points to

insects as

prime candidates as both food staples

and

supplements insects hold the power to

bring about an environmentally

sustainable food system

a win-win insects are only the beginning

to being more environmentally conscious

in everything we do

one of the more beautiful things i

believe insects have the capacity to do

for us though

is to make us more interconnected and

knowledgeable regarding each other’s

cultures

i have learned so much more about

dietary customs all around the world

i had no idea that in cambodia

tarantulas are captured fried and sold

at the marketplace

in southern africa the mopani worm is a

dietary staple

it can be cooked in a hot chili sauce in

mexico

grasshoppers or chapolines are toasted

and seasoned

locusts are fried in thailand through

recipes and youtube videos i became

acquainted with different dishes

customs languages and ways of life

i have learned so much more

about different bug dishes around the

world and there are so many i want to

try

my roommates are going to be thrilled

when my fried tarantulas arrive in the

mail

through a strange door i came to a

greater understanding and appreciation

of

cultures that are not my own and

i think we need that more than ever

right now

it is only by putting in the time and

effort

to genuinely learn about other cultures

that we will stop being hindered by our

ignorance

cultivating this understanding is a sign

a clear

indication of love and respect for the

other

maybe when you first heard me say the

phrase eating insects

you were taken aback but now that you

know how integral they are to some

cultures

you’re more accepting of the idea even

if you don’t feel particularly compelled

to try them yourself

yet if you’ve already undergone that

little change

that’s wonderful learning about

entomophagy is just a tiny window into a

world of knowledge

that will only become accessible to us

if we open the door

so do yourself a favor and genuinely

educate yourself regarding aspects of

other cultures

because that is how we eradicate

misconceptions stereotypes and hatreds

you have a wealth of resources at your

fingertips

read an article watch a video it will do

nothing

but make you a more compassionate person

an understanding neighbor

who is capable of loving those around

you properly

the type of person our world needs most

so the next time you’re presented with a

plate of crickets

or at the very least cricket flower

cookies

do yourself a favor and say yes

thank you