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
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