Edible Bugs--Humanity's Culinary Future?

Move over chicken and salmon! There may be a new super food about to replace you!  There are people out there who are hoping to make insects the main staple of the American diet.  Now, some of our friends to the East and to the South have already been eating bugs for some time.  Supposedly, the reason why this never caught on in the States and in European countries is that when the British were colonizing the world...they declared that eating bugs was for savages.  Therefore, while playing cricket would make you cool, eating one would ruin your social standing and make you repellent to the opposite sex (or the same sex...depending on what you were into).


Why on earth would anyone support this?  Well, the main reason is that there is a concern...with the huge population of the planet...that there will be a shortage of food.  Part of the reason for this shortage is that it takes a lot of land, a lot of feed, and a lot of water to raise animals that we consider edible like cows.  Yet, we also need land to house all these people that are populating the planet.  Bugs reproduce faster than mammals.  They require less food and less water to thrive.  They require less space.  They are also nutritious and an excellent source of protein.  There would probably be less health risks than a diet of pork--though unhealthy food enthusiasts I'm sure could find a way to make them fattening...like maybe caramelizing them in butter. Animal rights activists probably would not object, as they only care about things that are cute and fluffy--and most bugs are not.  If that zombie apocalypse happens, bugs would probably be the one food source zombies would not consume, and bugs would be abundant in a world where rotting corpses are walking around.

My mother is skeptical of this.  To her, it sounds like the sort of arguments she used to hear when she was a young woman.  In those days, people believed we would ruin the earth with nuclear war, and we would all have to live on the moon.  Therefore, we all needed to get accustomed to eating dehydrated food like dehydrated Neapolitan ice cream slices...and Tang.  You have to drink lots and lots of Tang.  My mom says that if cows, chickens, and pigs become scarce...she will probably try eating grass and bark before she tries eating grasshoppers.  For myself, I have to admit that while insects may require less to farm...just how many would you have to eat to feel satisfied?

I have to admit I was intrigued.  I've lead a nearly pure, uneventful life.  I didn't do anything as of yet I had on my bucket list, and somehow I can't see myself doing it in the future.  I didn't travel to exotic countries.  I didn't bungee jump or jump out of an airplane.  I didn't even do the normal things like smoke pot or have some ill advised love affair.  I've never gotten drunk.  For the most part, I don't exactly mind how I've lived my life...but I figured a person should try to do one wild and crazy thing in their lifetime.  That way, when I'm on my death bed, I can always say, "Well, I pretty much lived a boring life...but there was that one time I ate a bug...yes, I did! A bug! No, it wasn't an accident.  I did it on purpose."

So feeling adventurous, I bought a bag of mixed bugs from Amazon.  I'll tell you one thing, it isn't cheap.  This bag cost $13.99, though I got free shipping because it was Prime.  However, it was cheaper than eating scorpions--two of those cost nearly $25!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRODUCT DETAILS

Product:  Mixed Bugs--Boiled & Dehydrated Bugs Seasoned with Salt

No added colors or preservatives (aside from the salt)

Imported by:  Newport Jerky Company

Website:  www.newportjerkycompany.com

Bag content:  dehydrated grasshoppers, mole crickets, silkworms, crickets, sago worms, salt.

Contains an oxygen absorber to maintain freshness

Allergy Warnings:  Crustaceans

Net Weight:  .52 oz (15 g) (One reviewer claims you get about 50 bugs

Manufactured by:  JR Unique Foods Ltd.

Country of Manufacturer:  Thailand

UPC:  765857436173

Where I bought mine:  Amazon.com

Cost:  $13.99 (You may want to check Newport Jerky Company.  It is possible they sell it cheaper)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Of course, if you wanted to make bugs a staple of your diet, the most practical thing would be to start an insect farm.  They don't recommend capturing them in the wild, as they might have been exposed to harmful insecticides.  If you want to start bug farming, the most practical thing is to get them from the pet store.  The pet stores sell live bugs because they are food for exotic pets like iguanas.

I admit I had some concerns.  Is it possible to have allergies to bugs?  I mean, there are people who are allergic to bee stings, so it stands to reason that it is possible.  Of course, I guess it is no different than trying a new food that you've never had before.  What about scorpions?  I guess you don't eat the tail...but is there a risk for eating a venomous insect?  Do they remove the poison?  Do you eat everything on the insect?  I could probably manage to eat the bodies--but I admit I was a bit squeamish about the heads and legs.  I don't like having my food stare at me.  At the risk of sounding like a fecalphiliac, I also worried about what my poop would look like.  I have this hang-up about not wanting to recognize the food I've eaten when it comes out of my body.  Corn has always irritated me for its refusal to become an unrecognizable brown clump.  Then there is the smell of bugs.  I was unfortunate years ago to have a cockroach walk across my face while I was sleeping.  The smell from the bug was not something I forgot.  Can you get rid of the smell?  Stink bugs are supposedly edible...and I'm assuming there is a reason why they were given that name.  If you bit into one, would a horrible odor infiltrate your nostrils?

While I waited for my package to come, I went back and forth between enthusiasm and thinking this was a total waste of money, and what the heck was I thinking?  I'm not seriously considering eating one of these things?

Finally, I got them...and was very shocked at how small the bag was.  Amazon really needs to put down a warning that objects appear larger on their site.  The actual bag was about 7 1/4" x 4 1/4".  A reviewer claims it contains about 50 bugs.

I got a coupon from the Newport Jerky Company, which is the seller.  They sell specialty items.  Aside from things like coffee syrup and sweet maple bacon, they also sell alligator, python, kangaroo, snapping turtle, wild boar, and shark (as food).

At first, I thought they had removed the legs and heads...which I was glad about.  However, when I shook out the bag, I realized that this was not the case...but heads and legs tend to be more fragile and fall off.

One thing I was disappointed with is that the bugs were so dehydrated--and I was so unfamiliar with some of them--that I couldn't really distinguish them.  The bag came with five different kinds supposedly, though pretty much I thought I only saw two kinds.  The problem with variety bags is that often you don't wind up with as much of a variety you are expecting.  There was a slight smell.

So, I spent $13.99 and ate only three bugs.  Still, I guess I get credit for trying them at all.  A friend who claimed she had eaten a fried grasshopper had said it tasted like shrimp and was like eating it with the shell on.  Since I like shrimp, I tried something that was either a cricket or grasshopper.  I tried the black one and a green one--and both were nasty.  Of course, you are thinking, "What the heck did you expect?  You really thought they would taste like shrimp?!"  Both tasted like cat food to me...and yes, I actually--as a child--took a taste of my cat's food.  Cat food (the dry variety) actually tastes like it smells...and I don't recommend that either.

Oddly enough, the texture--which was another thing I had worried about--really wasn't a problem.  It was slightly crunchy and flaky--but it was no worse than eating stale wafers or something like that.

I also tried one of the worms--I don't know if it was a Sago worm or a silk worm...and that actually wasn't too bad.  I can't quite identify the taste.  These were not flavored except for the salt.  The worm tasted a bit like cheddar cheese mixed with some other flavor I can't quite name.  It was sort of like a nutty, wheat germ taste.

Still, I do not see bugs in my culinary future.  Of course, maybe I would like them better fresh.  The problem with the dehydrated sort was that the salt rather overwhelmed me both in taste and in how it made me feel.  I sometimes get sick from dehydrated foods...so this is something a person should consider.

Part of me is a bit disappointed.  I had imagined myself doing a Forrest Gump on Youtube, talking about the many ways you can cook bugs.  There is Grasshopper Au Gratin, cricket croquettes, friend grasshoppers, sweet and sour silkworms, grilled sago worms, etc.  Life is like a bag of bugs sometimes.  You know what you are supposed to get, but you don't know what you just put into your mouth...and either you want to spit it out or swallow.