BagOfCrisps 24 Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 I think it might take a lot of encouragement to get people here to eat insects, anyone tasted any yummy ones? Can Eating Insects Save the World is a new documentary in which food writer and self-confessed gastronaut Stefan Gates travel to Cambodia and Vietnam, to discover whether eating insects can save the world. This programme asks us to consider whether we would be willing to make bugs part of our regular diet. But if you’re not convinced, here are ten reasons why we should… 1. Insects could be the solution to world hunger. There are forty tons of insects to every human, that’s more than enough for an ongoing "all you can eat" insect buffet. 2. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation are taking this idea seriously. They are planning to hold a world congress on it later this year. 3. They are naturally sustainable. Mealworms, for example, survive on waste wheat chaff rather than guzzling grain like our favourite meat sources. 4. It is easy to farm them on a large scale without damaging the environment. 5. They provide unusual flavours and textures. In the documentary, Stefan Gates enthuses about the “lemony sourness” of red ants paired with the “creaminess of their eggs”. 6. They are highly nutritious. Caterpillars, for example, provide more protein and more iron than the same quantity of minced beef. 7. Many other countries are already eating insects. Cambodians eat tarantulas, in Thailand they deep fry crickets. The UK are way behind. 8. There are over 1,000 varieties of insects edible to humans. Surely there’s something for everyone. 9. British Mexican restaurant Wahaca has already started experimenting. They are currently selling chilli-fried grasshoppers. 10. There is a distinct lack of emotional attachment - unless you were particularly taken with A Bug’s Life. Link to post Share on other sites
snowdude 44 Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 Ate a few flies by accident years ago while on my motorbike in summer going through a fly swarm other than that cant really say that I have. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 In parts of Japan, deep fried crickets are reasonably common. I haven't tried them though, but at a BBQ last year a Japanese oyaji brought a big plate full and passed it roud.....a few of my mates dug in and said they tasted ok.....I just couldn't get my head around it. I've eaten Lime ants in australia.....bite their big green ass off.....tastes mildly of citrus, and throw away the head (cos eating the head would just be silly) Link to post Share on other sites
ILoveZao 8 Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 I'm not keen myself. Some of the points make sense though. Link to post Share on other sites
Alexander L 80 Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 occasionally I eat 冬蟲夏草 for theraputic purposes. Link to post Share on other sites
kokodoko 67 Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 ugh. i seen people eating grasshoppers in Laos. Pulled their wings off, ate the guts and legs.. disgusting.. Link to post Share on other sites
Alexander L 80 Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 relative to eating road kill? Link to post Share on other sites
Alexander L 80 Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 think of this: Have you ever eaten softshell crabs? They lose their shell and come up for some new shell hardening. They're served fried in flour with garlic, chili and ginger. It's like spider no? Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Prawns are insects of the sea Link to post Share on other sites
Alexander L 80 Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 and they are delish. Link to post Share on other sites
tokabochi 9 Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 They look too like giant insects, that's my problem with those critters! Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 5. They provide unusual flavours and textures. In the documentary, Stefan Gates enthuses about the “lemony sourness” of red ants paired with the “creaminess of their eggs”. I reckon I'm gonna prefer this kind of creamy egg Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 And I want one that big! Link to post Share on other sites
Chriselle 158 Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 My first year in Japan...up in Fukushima, I was privy to an Autumn outdoor BBQ and they had Inago for shits and giggles. Inago are the grasshoppers they collect around rice harvest time. They cook them in a sweet shoyu sauce that reduces and makes them like a sweet candy. They don't have any particular insecty taste but the exo-skeleton texture and pokey legs pretty much makes the experience exactly what it is.... eating a big ass bug.. Link to post Share on other sites
Doktor Avalanche 0 Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 I'm well 'ard, but I just couldn't. They'd have to be made to not look insect-y. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 My first year in Japan...up in Fukushima, I was privy to an Autumn outdoor BBQ and they had Inago for shits and giggles. Inago are the grasshoppers they collect around rice harvest time. They cook them in a sweet shoyu sauce that reduces and makes them like a sweet candy. They don't have any particular insecty taste but the exo-skeleton texture and pokey legs pretty much makes the experience exactly what it is.... eating a big ass bug.. yeah that was the same tasty morsel I saw at a BBQ as well Link to post Share on other sites
pie-eater 207 Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 Yummy yum yum! Link to post Share on other sites
Alexander L 80 Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 I don't see anything wrong with that. But pound for pound, grasshoppers contain 3 times more protein than beef. Link to post Share on other sites
SKI 15 Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 No thanks! Link to post Share on other sites
pie-eater 207 Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 Wonder what it would feel like being alive and then suddenly plonked into boiling water. Can't be nice. Link to post Share on other sites
kkk 7 Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 I was tricked into eating one of those things (blind) when I first came here. Didn't taste too bad, I was just not happy when I saw what I had eaten. Goes to show that what it looks like and perceptions play a big part. Link to post Share on other sites
Alexander L 80 Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 crabs and lobsters are quite ugly. Link to post Share on other sites
nagpants 1 Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 Aliens Link to post Share on other sites
pie-eater 207 Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 Crabs walk sideways, which always looks very shifty if you ask me. I'm sure there are some lovely crabs, but it's hard to get past that walking thing. I like the way their eyes are kind of on the end of a stick thing. That is cool. Link to post Share on other sites
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