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What's Stopping Us From Eating Insects?

Posted by timothy on from the there-will-never-be-a-fast-food-place-called-thoraxes-etc. dept.

Lasrick writes "Scientific American has a really nice article explaining why insects should be considered a good food source, and how the encroachment of Western attitudes into societies that traditionally eat insects is affecting consumption of this important source of nutrients. Good stuff." Especially when they're so easy to grow.

5 of 655 comments (clear)

  1. Good Question by MikeDataLink · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's all in our heads. We choose to eat some animals (like cows) and not others (like cats) because of cultural reasons. Same with insects.

    --
    Mike @ The Geek Pub. Let's Make Stuff!
    1. Re:Good Question by TheCarp · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I wouldn't cook any of my cats, but from the descriptions it seems like cat might be ok in a stew or soup. I have seen a few stories of cat consumption which tend to agree with this thought. In fact, most of the wikipedia headings on it seem to indicate stew is a common choice for those who eat cat: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_meat

      Overall though, I think this is part of why cats self-domesticated:

      1. We don't eat the same things they do... vermin tend to not be worth our time. They are not terribly good meat themselves, and also not really worth our time.
      2. They are not tasty nor worth our time in terms of meat:carcass ratio
      3. They don't eat the same things we do... they can't taste sugar and their need for lysine makes them obligate carnivores,
      4. They eat vermin who do eat the same things we do. Cats don't eat grain, but mice and rats do.
      5. They can't harm us beyond a scratch or a bite, which can mean infection and even loss of limb or death, but that isn't really the same issue; a cat in such a fight with a human is most likely going to lose badly and quickly.

      Throw in cuddly and warm, and its easy to see why cats and humans made natural, mutually beneficial, community, and why we let them move indoors with us.

      --
      "I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
  2. LAND SHRIMP by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Insects taste like shrimp, crab, or lobster. It's just the cultural bias that keeps people from eating them.

  3. Re:"Eww it's like a pus explosion in my mouth!" by GameboyRMH · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Another paraphrased quote:

    "When I eat bugs, it always tastes like they get a last bit of revenge on me by taking a dump in my mouth."

    --
    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
  4. Re:I'm in. by FatLittleMonkey · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Give me some tasty recipes.

    1. Feed insects to chickens.
    2. Cook and eat chickens.

    --
    Science is all about firing a drunk pig out of a cannon just to see what happens.