WEBVTT

00:00:09.416 --> 00:00:10.213
For centuries,

00:00:10.213 --> 00:00:12.148
people have consumed bugs,

00:00:12.148 --> 00:00:13.497
everything from beetles

00:00:13.497 --> 00:00:14.454
to caterpillars,

00:00:14.454 --> 00:00:15.375
locusts,

00:00:15.375 --> 00:00:16.206
grasshoppers,

00:00:16.206 --> 00:00:17.500
termites,

00:00:17.500 --> 00:00:18.328
and dragonflies.

00:00:18.328 --> 00:00:20.144
The practice even has a name:

00:00:20.144 --> 00:00:21.425
entomophagy.

00:00:21.425 --> 00:00:23.304
Early hunter-gatherers probably learned

00:00:23.304 --> 00:00:24.600
from animals that foraged

00:00:24.600 --> 00:00:26.318
for protein-rich insects

00:00:26.318 --> 00:00:27.766
and followed suit.

00:00:28.351 --> 00:00:29.089
As we evolved

00:00:29.089 --> 00:00:31.531
and bugs became part of our dietary tradition,

00:00:31.531 --> 00:00:32.557
they fulfilled the role

00:00:32.557 --> 00:00:34.025
of both staple food

00:00:34.025 --> 00:00:35.392
and delicacy.

00:00:35.392 --> 00:00:36.523
In ancient Greece,

00:00:36.523 --> 00:00:39.274
cicadas were considered luxury snacks.

00:00:39.274 --> 00:00:41.312
And even the Romans found beetle larvae

00:00:41.312 --> 00:00:43.040
to be scrumptious.

00:00:43.040 --> 00:00:45.149
Why have we lost our taste for bugs?

00:00:45.149 --> 00:00:47.995
The reason for our rejection is historical,

00:00:47.995 --> 00:00:49.565
and the story probably begins

00:00:49.565 --> 00:00:52.797
around 10,000 BC in the Fertile Crescent,

00:00:52.797 --> 00:00:54.272
a place in the Middle East

00:00:54.272 --> 00:00:56.781
that was a major birthplace of agriculture.

00:00:56.781 --> 00:00:59.331
Back then, our once-nomadic ancestors

00:00:59.331 --> 00:01:01.357
began to settle in the Crescent.

00:01:01.357 --> 00:01:03.048
And as they learned to farm crops

00:01:03.048 --> 00:01:04.670
and domesticate animals there,

00:01:04.670 --> 00:01:06.108
attitudes changed,

00:01:06.108 --> 00:01:07.784
rippling outwards towards Europe

00:01:07.784 --> 00:01:09.554
and the rest of the western world.

00:01:09.554 --> 00:01:10.863
As farming took off,

00:01:10.863 --> 00:01:13.964
people might have spurned bugs as mere pests

00:01:13.964 --> 00:01:15.532
that destroyed their crops.

00:01:15.532 --> 00:01:16.558
Populations grew,

00:01:16.558 --> 00:01:18.391
and the West became urbanized,

00:01:18.391 --> 00:01:21.192
weakening connections with our foraging past.

00:01:21.192 --> 00:01:23.779
People simply forgot their bug-rich history.

00:01:23.779 --> 00:01:26.687
Today, for people not accustomed to entomophagy,

00:01:26.687 --> 00:01:28.280
bugs are just an irritant.

00:01:28.280 --> 00:01:29.910
They sting and bite

00:01:29.910 --> 00:01:31.240
and infest our food.

00:01:31.240 --> 00:01:33.716
We feel an "ick factor" associated with them

00:01:33.716 --> 00:01:34.552
and are disgusted

00:01:34.552 --> 00:01:37.142
by the prospect of cooking insects.

00:01:37.142 --> 00:01:40.465
Almost 2,000 insect species are turned into food,

00:01:40.465 --> 00:01:42.566
forming a big part of everyday diets

00:01:42.566 --> 00:01:45.358
for two billion people around the world.

00:01:45.358 --> 00:01:48.720
Countries in the tropics are the keenest consumers

00:01:48.720 --> 00:01:50.376
because culturally it's acceptable.

00:01:50.376 --> 00:01:52.238
Species in those regions are also large,

00:01:52.238 --> 00:01:52.915
diverse,

00:01:52.915 --> 00:01:55.489
and tend to congregate in groups or swarms

00:01:55.489 --> 00:01:57.894
that make them easy to harvest.

00:01:57.894 --> 00:01:59.879
Take Cambodia in southeast Asia

00:01:59.879 --> 00:02:02.344
where huge tarantulas are gathered,

00:02:02.344 --> 00:02:02.933
fried,

00:02:02.933 --> 00:02:04.462
and sold in the marketplace.

00:02:04.462 --> 00:02:05.501
In southern Africa,

00:02:05.501 --> 00:02:08.666
the juicy mopane worm is a dietary staple,

00:02:08.666 --> 00:02:10.080
simmered in a spicy sauce

00:02:10.080 --> 00:02:12.578
or eaten dried and salted.

00:02:12.578 --> 00:02:14.404
And in Mexico, chopped jumiles

00:02:14.404 --> 00:02:17.253
are toasted with garlic, lemon, and salt.

00:02:17.253 --> 00:02:19.654
Bugs can be eaten whole to make up a meal

00:02:19.654 --> 00:02:22.207
or ground into flour, powder, and paste

00:02:22.207 --> 00:02:23.312
to add to food.

00:02:23.312 --> 00:02:24.935
But it's not all about taste.

00:02:24.935 --> 00:02:26.443
They're also healthy.

00:02:26.443 --> 00:02:28.908
In fact, scientists say entomophagy

00:02:28.908 --> 00:02:30.681
could be a cost-effective solution

00:02:30.681 --> 00:02:33.527
for developing countries that are food insecure.

00:02:33.527 --> 00:02:36.490
Insects can contain up to 80% protein,

00:02:36.490 --> 00:02:38.337
the body's vital building blocks,

00:02:38.337 --> 00:02:40.880
and are also high in energy-rich fat,

00:02:40.880 --> 00:02:41.456
fiber,

00:02:41.456 --> 00:02:44.288
and micronutrients like vitamins and minerals.

00:02:44.288 --> 00:02:46.052
Did you know that most edible insects

00:02:46.052 --> 00:02:47.252
contain the same amount

00:02:47.252 --> 00:02:50.247
or even more mineral iron than beef,

00:02:50.247 --> 00:02:52.254
making them a huge, untapped resource

00:02:52.254 --> 00:02:54.694
when you consider that iron deficiency

00:02:54.694 --> 00:02:56.977
is currently the most common nutritional problem

00:02:56.977 --> 00:02:58.422
in the world?

00:02:58.422 --> 00:03:00.555
The mealworm is another nutritious example.

00:03:01.492 --> 00:03:04.168
The yellow beetle larvae are native to America

00:03:04.168 --> 00:03:06.094
and easy to farm.

00:03:06.094 --> 00:03:08.007
They have a high vitamin content,

00:03:08.007 --> 00:03:09.135
loads of healthy minerals,

00:03:09.135 --> 00:03:12.001
and can contain up to 50% protein,

00:03:12.001 --> 00:03:15.254
almost as much as in an equivalent amount of beef.

00:03:15.254 --> 00:03:17.846
To cook, simply saute in butter and salt

00:03:17.846 --> 00:03:19.570
or roast and drizzle with chocolate

00:03:19.570 --> 00:03:21.090
for a crunchy snack.

00:03:21.090 --> 00:03:22.808
What you have to overcome in "ick factor,"

00:03:22.808 --> 00:03:24.429
you gain in nutrition

00:03:24.429 --> 00:03:25.509
and taste.

00:03:25.509 --> 00:03:27.273
Indeed, bugs can be delicious.

00:03:27.273 --> 00:03:29.300
Mealworms taste like roasted nuts.

00:03:29.300 --> 00:03:31.219
Locusts are similar to shrimp.

00:03:31.219 --> 00:03:32.853
Crickets, some people say,

00:03:32.853 --> 00:03:34.888
have an aroma of popcorn.

00:03:34.888 --> 00:03:36.489
Farming insects for food

00:03:36.489 --> 00:03:38.611
also has less environmental impact

00:03:38.611 --> 00:03:40.389
than livestock farms do

00:03:40.389 --> 00:03:43.385
because insects emit far less greenhouse gas

00:03:43.385 --> 00:03:46.312
and use up less space, water, and food.

00:03:46.312 --> 00:03:48.535
Socioeconomically, bug production

00:03:48.535 --> 00:03:50.665
could uplift people in developing countries

00:03:50.665 --> 00:03:53.123
since insect farms can be small scale,

00:03:53.123 --> 00:03:54.205
highly productive,

00:03:54.205 --> 00:03:57.073
and yet relatively inexpensive to keep.

00:03:57.073 --> 00:03:58.473
Insects can also be turned

00:03:58.473 --> 00:04:00.553
into more sustainable food for livestock

00:04:00.553 --> 00:04:02.759
and can be reared on organic waste,

00:04:02.759 --> 00:04:04.132
like vegetable peelings,

00:04:04.132 --> 00:04:07.022
that might otherwise just end up rotting in landfills.

00:04:07.022 --> 00:04:08.664
Feeling hungry yet?

00:04:08.664 --> 00:04:10.777
Faced with a plate of fried crickets,

00:04:10.777 --> 00:04:12.801
most people today would still recoil,

00:04:12.801 --> 00:04:14.914
imagining all those legs and feelers

00:04:14.914 --> 00:04:16.799
getting stuck between their teeth.

00:04:16.799 --> 00:04:18.052
But think of a lobster.

00:04:18.052 --> 00:04:20.223
It's pretty much just a giant insect

00:04:20.223 --> 00:04:22.407
with legs and feelers galore

00:04:22.407 --> 00:04:23.436
that was once regarded

00:04:23.436 --> 00:04:25.611
as an inferior, repulsive food.

00:04:25.611 --> 00:04:27.620
Now, lobster is a delicacy.

00:04:27.620 --> 00:04:30.416
Can the same paradigm shift happen for bugs?

00:04:30.416 --> 00:04:31.655
So, give it a try!

00:04:31.655 --> 00:04:33.043
Pop that insect into your mouth,

00:04:33.043 --> 00:04:35.087
and savor the crunch.