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 saute 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.