By: Eliana Zhang
Edible insects often make their way into the public eye through appearances in dystopian worlds. Movies like Snowpiercer and Blade Runner portray a pessimistic future of bug bars and the like, a product of societal deterioration. Despite their negative connotations, insect dishes are not only accepted by various cultures, but, considering their abundance and nutritional efficiency, they are also compelling options to help build a sustainable world. Edible insects should be normalized in modern diets because they have been historically reliable, are as safe as typical protein sources, and are environmentally sustainable.
Over 1,900 species of insects are edible, so it should come as no surprise that diets have included insects since the dawn of civilization. While Americans may associate them with poverty and food insecurity, insects in foreign cuisines appear according to their cultural significance. Household pests such as ants and termites appear in African, Asian, and South American markets as popular snacks. Europe, too, has traditional insect-based foods such as the Italian Casu Marzu, a sheep-milk cheese with live larvae.
Human diets have included insects even before civilization and agriculture. Fossilized feces found in North American caves contained ants, larvae, and ticks, indicating that insects formed a significant part of early human diets. Twelve-thousand-year-old cave paintings in Spain illustrate a collection of edible insects and bee nests. Ruins in Shanxi, China, dated to around 2,500 years BCE contained silkworm cocoons with holes, suggesting that ancient people ate the pupae inside. There is nothing to suggest that eating insects didn’t “age well” scientifically as we learned more about their associations with disease because they are as sanitary as typical livestock. To let thousands of years worth of food history become irrelevant due to modern consumer disgust would be a waste of a perfectly natural food source.
Despite the long-tested reliability of edible insects, people may hesitate to replace their typical Western foods because of concerns about food safety. To comfort even the most anxious of anti-insect consumers, thorough examinations have been conducted on the food safety risks of insect-based foods. They focus on the safety of the insect itself as well as the conditions found in the processing environment. Foodborne pathogens are largely absent in insects, and manufacturers are meticulous in ensuring that safe products reach consumers. Like any other food production process, edible insect distributors strictly adhere to sanitation practices and are vigilant of leftover contaminants from the insect. A four-step program called AIM=F is often implemented to neutralize any food contamination: Step 1 “anticipates” possible contamination scenarios; Step 2 “informs” employees about visible dangers; Step 3 “mitigates” any incidents by developing and practicing swift protocols; and Step 4 “frustrates” any deliberate sabotage attempts if the need arises. Edible insects are as safe as any other food source, and although mistakes are inevitable, risk is minimized due to the efforts of food-processing organizations.
Westerners should also not shy away from the use of insect ingredients in local cuisine due to their economic and environmental advantages. Scientists and businesspeople alike are growing increasingly interested in their vast potential to alleviate food insecurity and offer sustainable alternatives to inefficient farming. Current agriculture and livestock feeding will only result in deepening environmental problems as the world population increases. The growing need for animal foodstuff gives a market opportunity to whoever finds a more efficient alternative. Conventional livestock require many acres of land as well as millions of tons of water. Yet, the meat produced would feed perhaps a quarter of the people that could have been sustained by the crops on the land alone. Insects not only require less feed, water, and land in comparison to cattle and pigs, but they also yield significantly more nutrients for the same amount of resources.
Crickets, an insect commonly found on American lawns and grocery store shelves, are the perfect example of the nutritional efficiency of insects. Cricket flours are being produced more than ever due to their 70% protein content. Compared to the 14% protein content of normal wheat flour, it is clear that cricket flour is the better nutritional choice.
Insects provide an economically viable solution to the growing number of mouths to feed as the world population reaches the tens of billions before the next century. An estimated thirty percent of all land on Earth is used to raise animals. Insects are a promising but largely unexplored alternative to current agricultural products. Companies that have realized their potential are already producing them in numerous useful forms like flours, liquids, oils, and much more. The insect industry is ready to go, and their main obstacle is popularity. The 21st century is an exciting time to jump into this emerging industry, and the nutritional and economic potential of one of the largest ecological groups on Earth could deliver us into a new age.
What did you learn?
Are insects safe to eat?
Some insects are off-limits, but there are over 1,900 species of edible insects, and humans have been eating them since 10,000 BCE. Modern cultures today also include insects in their dishes. While they may seem off-putting at first, rest assured, any form of insect that ends up on your plate went through a time-tested process of constant vigilance, sanitation, and production that makes it as safe as any other animal food.
Why should insects be explored as a food option?
The world population will only increase, and the corresponding food demand will overwhelm current agricultural systems and the planet as a whole. Insects are a sustainable and efficient alternative to those. They take less resources to manufacture into a food product and are more nutritious.
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