2.5 billion people worldwide eat insects. Beyond the disgust that this can inspire in the uninformed, this food mode is very healthy by the high protein content of these 6-legged animals.
At a time when sugar is considered addictive, gluten intolerable and hypercholesterolemic meats, why not turn to insects to fill our plate as more than 2.5 billion people in the world do?
Because the FAO, the UN food and agriculture agency for many years, then ANSES in 2015 in an opinion it had issued without pouting, showed us that to do your menus with crickets and worms, beetles or scorpions was very healthy. And not only for certain areas of Africa, Asia or even Latin America, countries that do not always have a choice! In fact, nearly a third of the world’s population and particularly in these countries, i.e. more than 2.5 billion people already traditionally consume insects. But a day will come, if we are still to believe the FAO, when this entomophagy, that is to say the fact of consuming insects, will also have to reach our latitudes. In 2050, the earth will have 9 billion inhabitants, and it will therefore be necessary to double our food production. But that of meat will not be able to continue on its current momentum: it would be necessary to double the surface of the earth just to feed these animals! So ants and locusts will have to go to the pan, with the approval of the faculty.
Rich in protein
Indeed, grasshoppers and congeners are very rich in protein! These little beasts contain proportionally as much protein as raw beef. And that’s not all: for example the cricket is also rich in omega 3, iron, calcium… the cricket is therefore a complete food. But with very little fat.
Another advantage: the insects are in almost unlimited quantity, reproduce constantly on land, in the air and in the waters, so there is no risk of shortage. In addition, unlike the animals we eat such as meat and fish, which need other proteins to grow, insects are content with residues such as food waste or compost. Their breeding is therefore relatively simple and economical. For example, to produce one kilogram of insects, it takes 2 kilograms of food, while for cattle, it takes 8 kilograms to produce 1 kilogram of meat.
In addition, insects are very environmentally friendly: they use little water and produce less greenhouse gases than livestock. Note that cattle breeding produces more greenhouse gases than the automobile industry!
Where to shop?
Certainly, it is easier today to buy crisps than insects. But on the internet, you can find everything thanks to online stores, such as edible insects Where insect your which produce and market food insects: giant bugs, African caterpillars, locusts, etc. There are also recipes or desserts such as a “worm brownie” and then small delicacies such as scorpion lollipops or cereal bars from various insects. A delight !
Currently, there is no shop on the street: we do not yet have the right in France to open a shop where we sell insects. But things are changing fast, and in a few years, as this trade begins to get organized and follows the rules of traceability and microbiological control, stores will open.
What taste ?
The most important thing remains to be known: what taste do these insects have? Answer on the internet where there are many convincing testimonies: crunchy nutty taste of crickets, lemony flavor, more pungent or close to gorgonzola of water bugs… About “Water bugs, crickets, silkworms and other grasshoppers that have just been served to her, a restaurant customer admits: When you see it, it doesn’t make you want to, but it’s really good! »
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