Eaten Any Good Bugs Lately?

bugmouthbigEnjoying that hamburger? It took 900 gallons of water to produce that half-pound burger. The source of that ground beef released thirteen pounds of greenhouse gases: methane from farts and burps, and nitrous oxide from manure. Thirty percent of the land in the world is used to raise grain to feed cattle, chickens and pigs. Feeling guilty? The solution is clear: Bugs!

bug4MuffinsFor much of the world, insects are part of the regular diet. 1,900 insect species are considered edible. Humans throughout the world consume grasshoppers, crickets, ants, spiders and dozens more. In the United States and other Western countries, not so much.

The environmental arguments for insects-as-food start with the less land cowneeded to raise and harvest insects. They require much less feed to produce protein than do animals we normally eat. They also generate much less greenhouse gas. The United Nations recently advocated insects as part of the solution to feeding a hungry world.

Eating bugs is icky and you’d never do it? (Except that worm at the bottom of the tequila bottle.) Insects are bugeating-insectsincreasingly making their way onto restaurant menus. The Chapul Company manufactures protein bars made from cricket flour. An appearance on the TV show Shark Tank brought Mark Cuban in as an investor.

If you’re feeling adventurous, here are some to try.

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