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(Image source: Wikimedia Commons / Bundschuh)
BY KERRY LEARY
We all know doctors usually recommend eating more fruits and vegetables to lead a healthier
lifestyle — but what about eating bugs? A United Nations agency is pushing for a new
kind of diet to help end world hunger.
"The Food and Agriculture Organization says that people should eat insects to fight hunger
pangs. It says grasshoppers, ants, other members of the insect world underutilized food for
people, livestock and pets." (Via KNSD)
The report was released Monday at the U.N. agency's headquarters in Rome. The report
also notes more than 2 billion people in the world already supplement their diets with
insects.
The agency said, "Insects are everywhere and they reproduce quickly," adding they leave
a "low environmental footprint." (Via The Food and Agriculture Organization)
The study also calls the crunchy critters nutritious — saying they are high in protein,
fat and mineral content. On Monday morning Fox News anchors talked about the idea for
a new meal plan.
ANCHOR 1: "It doesn't stop with bugs. Scientists are now looking for nutritional value in spiders."
ANCHOR 2: "They have eight legs. Chickens only have two."
ANCHOR 1: "After I have three, I'm full."
They may be joking, but the BBC says, some cultures might not be too keen on the idea
of insect delicacies.
"Insects are regularly eaten by many of the world's population, but the thought may seem
shocking to many Westerners. The report suggests that the food industry could help in 'raising
the status of insects' by including them in new recipes and adding them to restaurant
menus."
And those suggestions could soon come to fruition in the U.S. — that is, if anyone is interested
in sampling cicadas. They are expected to invade the east coast this summer. An entomologist
from Drexel University told WCAU that's not a bad idea — she calls cicadas the "shrimp
of the land."
"They are arthropods, which means they have an exoskeleton ... We regularly eat the arthropods
of the sea and those are the shrimp, lobsters and crabs. And so cicadas are arthropods too."
The entomologist suggests grabbing the cicadas when they're fresh from the ground early in
the morning — that's when they're softest. But a forewarning, you'll want to pull off
the wings before chewing on the crunchy treats because, like corn kernels, they can get stuck
in your teeth.
And if you're looking to get fancy with some cicada dishes this summer, there are already
a few websites with recipes — including a cicada-portobello quiche. Perhaps cicadas
will help the Western hemisphere get acclimated to the insect suggestions from the FOA this
However, the cicadas will only stick around for a couple of months. When it comes to edible
critters throughout the rest of the year — some African countries are actually populated with
the largest amount of bugs that are safe to eat — a continent where some 30 million
people suffer from hunger.