Eating Bugs to Save the Earth

This is just gross.

The Daily Mail (UK)--one of the tabloid-style news sites (Did you know Sarah Jessica Parker wore a designer dress that's been worn before???)--reported today that eating insects can help the environment and supply our bodies with nutrients. I'm not going to post a picture.

Crunching into crickets or snacking on grilled caterpillar is apparently a means to a nutrient-rich diet that also helps reduce pests and puts less strain on the planet than eating conventional meat.

Some insects in their dried form are said to have twice the protein of raw meat and fish, while others are rich in unsaturated fat and contain important vitamins and minerals.

Experts believe they could one day be marketed as a healthy alternative to fatty snacks.

The article mentions that bugs are eaten in many other countries, and I know that even John the Baptist ate locusts and honey. However, the Bible--properly--mentions it like its a strange thing to do. The experts seem to believe that bug eating is fine.

But Patrick Durst, of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, said that if consumers were to be tempted to broaden their culinary horizons the trick might be to make the bugs look more palatable.

'You need to get the food into a form where someone doesn't have to look the bug in the eye when they eat it,' he said.

Finally, someone's making a little sense. But not enough. To make complete sense, they'd need to scrap the whole idea of converting Europeans and Americans to entomophagy and concentrate on encouraging the people who do eat bugs to eat more.