Is Entomophagy the future?

Why eating insects is good for you?

Entomophagy is the human use of insects as food. It is a diet enjoyed by millions across the globe due to it being a great substitute for protein. Over 1,000 species of insects are known to be eaten in 80% of the world’s nations. They also suggest entomophagy should be considered as a solution to environmental pollution.

A popular Pest Control company establish “Pestaurant” to help educate people around the health benefits of an insect-rich diet.

“2014 saw the world’s first global Pestaurant with pop-up restaurants appearing in 11 countries across the globe on the 4th of June, where around 13,300 people got their teeth stuck into edible insects. The event took place again in 2015 where over 18,000 edible insects were consumed across the globe, proving just how tasty eating insects can be.” – Rentokill.

Are insects really the future of food?

The UN released a comprehensive 185-page document advocating the rearing of edible insects to be used as food by humans and also as cattle feed. Insects have a high nutritional value, their cultivation is environmentally friendlier, when compared to other animal protein sources, and comes with great socio-economic benefits for a lot of people in the poorer regions of the planet.

The Economist also mentions:

“The bigger the beast, the more food, land and water is needed to produce the final edible product, resulting in higher greenhouse-gas emissions. A cow takes 8 kg of feed to produce 1 kg of beef, but only 40% of the cow can be eaten. Crickets require just 1.7 kg of food to produce 1 kg of meat, and 80% is considered edible.”

And so eating insects is not only as healthy as you think but also, it can protect the environment as well.