[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.
[Nega biz qumursqalarni yemaymiz?] Asrlar davomida odamlar hasharotlarni, qo'ng'izlardan tortib kapalak qurti, chigirtkalar-u termitlar va ninachilargacha iste'mol qilishgan. Bu amaliyotning hatto nomi ham bor: entomofagiya. Ilk ovchilar, balki, buni oqsillarga boy hasharotlar bilan oziqlanuvchi va ularga ergashuvchi hayvonlardan o'rganishgandir. Biz rivojlanib, hasharotlar bizning parhez an'analarimizga aylanganida, ular asosiy oziq-ovqat va noziklikning rolini bajardilar. Qadimgi Yunonistonda sikadalarga hashamatli taom sifatida qaralgan. Va hatto Rimliklar ham qo'ng'iz lichinkalarini g'ayrioddiy deb topganlar. Nega biz qumursqalarga bo'lgan ehtiyojimizni yo'qotdik? Bunday cheklanishimizning sababi tarixga borib taqaladi va bu voqea, ehtimol miloddan avvalgi 10000 - yilda O'rta Sharqda qishloq xo'jaligining asosiy vatani bo'lgan Fertil Crescent da boshlanadi. O'sha vaqtlarda ko'chmanchi bo'lgan ajdod- larimiz Crescent ga joylasha boshlashdi. Va ular yerda ekinlarni yetishtirish va hayvonlarni xonakilashtirishni o'rgangan vaqtda, qarashlar o'zgarib, bu Yevropa, umuman G'arbiy dunyoning yarimiga yetib borgan. Dehqonchilik boshlanganda, odamlar hasharotlarni hosilni yo'q qiladigan zararkunandalarga aylantirgan bo'lishi mumkin. Aholi ko'payib, G'arb shaharlashgan, o'tmishdagi oziq izlash muammolari ham susaydi. Odamlar shunchaki hasharotga boy tarixni unutdilar. Bugun entomofagiya bilan tanish bo'lmaganlarga qumursqa shunchaki qichima uyg'otuvchidir. Ular bizning ovqatimizga qo'nadi, tishlaydi va zararlantiradi. Biz ular bilan bog'liq bo'lgan "achchiq omil" ni his qilamiz va hasharotlarni pishirishdan jirkanamiz. Deyarli 2000 hasharot turlari oziq-ovqatga aylanib, dunyo bo'ylab ikki milliard odam uchun kundalik ovqatlanishning katta qismini tashkil etadi. Tropik mamlakatlar hasharotlarni sevib iste'mol qiluvchilardir, chunki madaniy tomondan bu qabul qilingan. Ushbu mintaqalarda tarqalgan turlar yirik va xilma-xil bo'lib, ularni yig'ib olishni osonlashtiruvchi guruh yoki to'da bo'lish tendentsiyasiga ega. Janubi-Sharqiy Osiyodagi Kambodjani olaylik, u yerda ulkan tarantulalar yig'iladi, qovuriladi va bozorlarda sotiladi. Afrikaning janubida suvli mopan qurti parhez mahsulotidir, achchiq sousga solingan yoki quritilgan va tuzlangan holda iste'mol qilinadi. Meksikada esa to'g'ralgan jumililar sarimsoq, limon va tuz bilan qovuriladi. Qumursqalarni to'liq iste'mol qilish uchun ovqatni tayyorlash yoki un, kukun va xamirga qo'shish mumkin. Ammo barchasi ta'mga bog'liq emas. Bu salomatlik uchun zarur. Olimlar entomofagiya rivojlanayotgan mamlakatlar uchun oziq-ovqat masalasida iqtisodiy jihatdan samarali yechim bo'lishi mumkin deyishadi Hasharotlarda 80% gacha protein mavjud, va ular organizmning hayotiy muhim tarkibiy qismlari bo'lib, katta energiyaga ega yog', tola, vitaminlar va minerallar singari mikroelementlarga ega. Bilasizmi, ko'pchilik yeyish mumkin bo'lgan hasharotlar tarkibi mol go'shti bilan bir xil miqdorda yoki undan ko'proq mineral temir moddasiga ega. Temir tanqisligini hozirgi kunda dunyodagi eng keng tarqalgan oziqlanish muammosi deb hisoblasak, ular ulkan, foydalanilmagan manba emasmi? Taom qurtlari yana bir to'yimli misoldir. Sariq qo'ng'iz lichinkalari vatani Amerikada ularni yetishtirish oson. Ularning tarkibi vitaminlarga boy, foydali minerallar ko'p, hattoki, deyarli 50 foizgacha oqsil bo'lishi mumkin, ya'ni hu mol go'shti tarkibidagi miqdor bilan teng. Uni pishirish uchun shunchaki sariyog' va tuzga soling yoki qovurdoq va sho'rlangan gazak uchun shokolad seping. "Yoqimsiz omil"dagi yengish kerak bo'lgan narsa, ovqatlanish va ta'mga ega bo'lish. Hasharotlar mazali bo'lishi mumkin. Taom qurtlari qovurilgan yong'oqqa kabidir. Chigirtkalar qisqichbaqalarga o'xshaydi. Kriketlarda, ba'zi odamlar aytadiki, popkorn xushbo'yligi bor. Hasharotlarni oziq-ovqat uchun yetishtirish, shuningdek, chorvachilik fermalariga qaraganda kamroq ekologik ta'sirga ega, chunki hasharotlar juda kam issiqxona gazini chiqaradi va kam joy, suv va oziq-ovqat sarflaydi. Ijtimoiy-iqtisodiy tomondan, hasharot ta'minoti rivojlanayotgan davlatlardagi odamlarni rivojlantirishi mumkin, chunki hasharot fermalari kichik hajmli, yuqori mahsuldor va saqlash uchun arzon bo'lishi ham mumkin. Hasharotlarni chorva mollari uchun barqaror oziq-ovqat mahsulotlariga aylantirish, o'simlik polizlari kabi organik chiqindilarda yetishtirish mumkin, aks holda chiqindixonalarda chirishi mumkin. Ochlikni his qilmayapsizmi? Bir likopcha qovurilgan kriket bilan duch kelgan odamlarning aksariyati bugun ham oyoqlari va sezgichlari tish orasida qolishini tasavvur qilib, chekinishadi. Omar haqida bir o'ylang. Bu deyarli oyoqlari va sezgichlari bo'lgan ulkan hasharotdir, ular ilgari oddiy, jirkanch oziq-ovqat sifatida qabul qilingan. Hozirda, omar - bu nafosat. Xuddi shu paradigma o'zgarishi sodir bo'lishi mumkinmi? Xullas, sinab ko'ring! Uni og'zingizga soling va qarsillashidan lazzatlaning.