[Why don't we eat bugs?] For centuries, people have consumed bugs, everything from beetles to caterpillars, locusts, grasshoppers, termites, and dragonflies. The practice even has a name: entomophagy. Early hunter-gatherers probably learned from animals that foraged for protein-rich insects and followed suit. As we evolved and bugs became part of our dietary tradition, they fulfilled the role of both staple food and delicacy. In ancient Greece, cicadas were considered luxury snacks. And even the Romans found beetle larvae to be scrumptious. Why have we lost our taste for bugs? The reason for our rejection is historical, and the story probably begins around 10,000 BC in the Fertile Crescent, a place in the Middle East that was a major birthplace of agriculture. Back then, our once-nomadic ancestors began to settle in the Crescent. And as they learned to farm crops and domesticate animals there, attitudes changed, rippling outwards towards Europe and the rest of the Western world. As farming took off, people might have spurned bugs as mere pests that destroyed their crops. Populations grew, and the West became urbanized, weakening connections with our foraging past. People simply forgot their bug-rich history. Today, for people not accustomed to entomophagy, bugs are just an irritant. They sting and bite and infest our food. We feel an "ick factor" associated with them and are disgusted by the prospect of cooking insects. Almost 2,000 insect species are turned into food, forming a big part of everyday diets for two billion people around the world. Countries in the tropics are the keenest consumers, because culturally, it's acceptable. Species in those regions are also large, diverse, and tend to congregate in groups or swarms that make them easy to harvest. Take Cambodia in Southeast Asia where huge tarantulas are gathered, fried, and sold in the marketplace. In southern Africa, the juicy mopane worm is a dietary staple, simmered in a spicy sauce or eaten dried and salted. And in Mexico, chopped jumiles are toasted with garlic, lemon, and salt. Bugs can be eaten whole to make up a meal or ground into flour, powder, and paste to add to food. But it's not all about taste. They're also healthy. In fact, scientists say entomophagy could be a cost-effective solution for developing countries that are food insecure. Insects can contain up to 80% protein, the body's vital building blocks, and are also high in energy-rich fat, fiber, and micronutrients like vitamins and minerals. Did you know that most edible insects contain the same amount or even more mineral iron than beef, making them a huge, untapped resource when you consider that iron deficiency is currently the most common nutritional problem in the world? The mealworm is another nutritious example. The yellow beetle larvae are native to America and easy to farm. They have a high vitamin content, loads of healthy minerals, and can contain up to 50% protein, almost as much as in an equivalent amount of beef. To cook, simply sauté in butter and salt or roast and drizzle with chocolate for a crunchy snack. What you have to overcome in "ick factor," you gain in nutrition and taste. Indeed, bugs can be delicious. Mealworms taste like roasted nuts. Locusts are similar to shrimp. Crickets, some people say, have an aroma of popcorn. Farming insects for food also has less environmental impact than livestock farms do because insects emit far less greenhouse gas and use up less space, water, and food. Socioeconomically, bug production could uplift people in developing countries since insect farms can be small scale, highly productive, and yet relatively inexpensive to keep. Insects can also be turned into more sustainable food for livestock and can be reared on organic waste, like vegetable peelings, that might otherwise just end up rotting in landfills. Feeling hungry yet? Faced with a plate of fried crickets, most people today would still recoil, imagining all those legs and feelers getting stuck between their teeth. But think of a lobster. It's pretty much just a giant insect with legs and feelers galore that was once regarded as an inferior, repulsive food. Now, lobster is a delicacy. Can the same paradigm shift happen for bugs? So, give it a try! Pop that insect into your mouth, and savor the crunch.
[Zakaj ne jemo žuželk?] Ljudje so stoletja uživali žuželke, od hroščev, do gosenic, kobilic, termitov in kačjih pastirjev. Navada ima celo ime: entomofagija. Zgodnji lovci nabiralci so se verjetno učili od živali, ki so nabirale žužke, bogate z beljakovinami in jih posnemali. Ko so z evolucijo žužki postali del naše prehrambne tradicije, so služili hkrati za osnovno živilo in poslastico. V stari Grčiji so škržati veljali za luksuzen prigrizek. Celo pri Rimljanih so ličinke hroščev veljale za slastne. Zakaj nam žuželke niso več všeč? Razlog za naš odpor gre iskati v zgodovini in zgodba se najbrž začne okrog 10.000 let pr. Kr. v Rodovitnem polmesecu, del Bližnjega vzhoda, ki je bil pomembna zibelka kmetijstva. Takrat so se naši nomadski predniki začeli naseljevati v polmesecu in ko so se učili gojiti poljščine in udomačevati živali, so se stališča spremenila ter razširila po Evropi in ostalem Zahodnem svetu. S porastom kmetovanja so ljudje morda začeli prezirati žuželke kot škodljivce, ki so uničevali njihov pridelek. Število prebivalstva je naraslo in Zahod se je urbaniziral. To je oslabilo vezi z našo nabiralniško preteklostjo. Ljudje so pozabili na zgodovino uživanja žuželk. Danes so za ljudi, ki niso vajeni entomofagije, žuželke zgolj nadloga. Pikajo, grizejo in uničujejo našo hrano. Do njih imamo odpor in misel na kuhanje žuželk se nam gnusi. Skoraj 2000 vrst žuželk je predelanih v hrano, ki igra pomembno vlogo na jedilniku dveh milijard ljudi po svetu. Najbolj zagreti porabniki so tropske države, kjer je to družbeno sprejemljivo. Vrste v teh območjih so velike, raznolike in se navadno zbirajo v skupinah ali rojih, zaradi česar jih je lažje loviti. Vzemimo Kambodžo v Jugovzhodni Aziji, kjer nabirajo ogromne tarantele, jih ocvrejo in nato prodajo na tržnici. V južni Afriki je sočni Mopane črv vsakdanje živilo. Skuhajo ga v začinjeni omaki ali pa ga posušijo in nasolijo. V Mehiki sesekljane hrošče jumiles popečejo s česnom, limono in soljo. Žužke je moč jesti kar tako, ali jih zmleti v moko, prah ali pasto, ki jih uporabimo kot dodatek hrani. Vendar okusnost ni vse - - mrčes je tudi zdrav. Znanost pravi, da bi bila entomofagija lahko ekonomična rešitev za države v razvoju, ki trpijo za prehransko negotovostjo. Žuželke lahko vsebujejo do 80 % beljakovin, ki so ključni gradniki telesa, obilo maščob, ki so bogate z energijo, vlaknine in mikrohranila, kot so vitamini in minerali. Ste vedeli, da večina užitnih insektov vsebuje enako količino mineralnega železa kakor govedina, ali celo več? Glede na to, da je pomanjkanje železa najpogostejša prehrambna težava na svetu, so žuželke ogromna neizkoriščena dobrina. Mokar je še en hranljiv primer. Rumene hroščeve ličinke izvirajo iz Amerike in jih je lahko pridelovati. Imajo veliko vitaminov, ogromno zdravih mineralov in lahko vsebujejo do 50 % beljakovin, skoraj toliko, kot enaka količina govedine. Pripravimo jih tako, da soljene popražimo na maslu, ali spečemo in pokapamo s čokolado za hrustljav prigrizek. Potrebno se je seveda spopasti z odporom, a nagrada je hranljiv in okusen obrok. Žužki so res lahko slastni. Mokarji imajo okus po praženih oreških. Kobilice spominjajo na morske rakce. Črički marsikomu dišijo po pokovki. Gojenje insektov za hrano ima mnogo manjši negativni vpliv na okolje kakor živinoreja, saj žuželke proizvajajo mnogo manj toplogrednih plinov in porabijo manj prostora, vode in hrane. Družbenogospodarsko gledano bi gojenje žuželk lahko pomagalo ljudem iz držav v razvoju, saj so farme žuželk lahko majhne in visoko produktivne, njihovo vzdrževanje pa je poceni. Žuželke se lahko predela tudi v bolj trajnostno krmo za živino, redi pa se jih lahko z organskimi odpadki, kot so zelenjavni olupki, ki bi sicer zgnili na odlagališčih. Ste že kaj lačni? Če bi prednje postavili krožnik ocvrtih čričkov, bi večina odskočila ob misli na vse tiste nožice in tipalke, ki bi se zataknile med zobmi. Kaj pa jastog? Pravzaprav gre zgolj za ogromnega žužka z obilico nog in tipalk, ki je včasih veljal za manjvredno, odvratno hrano. Danes je jastog poslastica. Lahko do take spremembe paradigme pride tudi pri žuželkah? Poskusite, torej! Pogumno sezite po tistem žužku in ga pohrustajte.