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Why Don’t More Humans Eat Bugs? (2018)

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Re: Why Don’t More Humans Eat Bugs? (2018)

#31

Post by koliber »

sametmax wrote: post #15
remarkEon wrote: post #6

Because they’re gross looking and honestly don’t taste that great (speaking from experience). It’s not rocket science.

And this rejection probably comes from the fact their are not safe to eat as is. If you take any bug and you eat it without cooking it, you risk diseases or venom, and you'll get a hard crunch shell. So batch preparing those little things requires deep fry, which is a quite recent addition to our life. Besides, it was hard to safely gather or raise enough of them to nourish a village. So we did eat some of them anecd…

The same is true for a whole freshly slaughtered chicken, sans venom.

Re: Why Don’t More Humans Eat Bugs? (2018)

#32

Post by bad_user »

sametmax wrote: post #11

Fried spiced bugs are tasty. Raw bugs not so much. I liked fried scorpio. Raw cricket, taste like crap. I guess if you take grass, deep fry it and put cummin on it, it tastes ok too. You can eat a cucumber, a carrot, an apple or a steak raw. Even things you need to cook, such as wheet or potatoes, taste alrigh by just being boiled in water.

You can eat potatoes raw too.

The human digestive system evolved in the Paleolithic to easily digest starchy roots like the potato. Besides meat, starchy roots were a favorite.

Wheat btw is a Neolithic phenomenon. And there is some proof that grains are toxic and that some of those toxins aren’t annihilated with cooking. Grains being toxic is an evolutionary trait meant to discourage mammals and insects from eating the seeds. Fruits are meant to be eaten, but not seeds.

Could insects be toxic too? The dose makes the poison, plus it takes decades for us to observe the effects.

Also deep fried food is unhealthy, no matter the food. Vegetable oils and high temperatures don’t mix well.

Re: Why Don’t More Humans Eat Bugs? (2018)

#33

Post by justinator »

steve_adams_86 wrote: post #28
justinator wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How many crustaceans can you think of that have wings and fly? How many bugs do you know that live in the ocean? I'd say they're fairly different, unless you want to also support the claim that we should all eat whale, since they're related to deer.

If you've ever handled bugs like scorpions or larger arthropods, they're remarkably similar to crawfish or crabs. They're virtually the same thing. There are aquatic and terrestrial arthropods which are literally the same type of 'bugs'. Whales and deer are not alike in the same way.

If you've ever handled bugs like scorpions or larger arthropods, they're remarkably similar to crawfish or crabs. They're virtually the same thing.

How many millions of years ago would we need to go back, to find the common ancestor?

Whales and deer are not alike in the same way.

Same question, I suppose. A longer span of time, or shorter?

Re: Why Don’t More Humans Eat Bugs? (2018)

#34

Post by sametmax »

koliber wrote: post #31
sametmax wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And this rejection probably comes from the fact their are not safe to eat as is. If you take any bug and you eat it without cooking it, you risk diseases or venom, and you'll get a hard crunch shell. So batch preparing those little things requires deep fry, which is a quite recent addition to our life. Besides, it was hard to safely gather or raise enough of them to nourish a village. So we did eat some of them anecd…

The same is true for a whole freshly slaughtered chicken, sans venom.

It's much easier to figure out that one chicken is sick that one in 100 tiny bugs with an exoskeleton.

And bugs are more resistant than chickens, and can hold many dangerous agents that are dangerous for us without being sick themself.

Re: Why Don’t More Humans Eat Bugs? (2018)

#35

Post by sametmax »

bad_user wrote: post #32
sametmax wrote: post #11

Fried spiced bugs are tasty. Raw bugs not so much. I liked fried scorpio. Raw cricket, taste like crap. I guess if you take grass, deep fry it and put cummin on it, it tastes ok too. You can eat a cucumber, a carrot, an apple or a steak raw. Even things you need to cook, such as wheet or potatoes, taste alrigh by just being boiled in water.

You can eat potatoes raw too. The human digestive system evolved in the Paleolithic to easily digest starchy roots like the potato. Besides meat, starchy roots were a favorite. Wheat btw is a Neolithic phenomenon. And there is some proof that grains are toxic and that some of those toxins aren’t annihilated with cooking. Grains being toxic is an evolutionary trait meant to discourage mammals and insects from eating t…

Somehow i don't think a restaurant selling raw potatoes will suceed much though :)

Re: Why Don’t More Humans Eat Bugs? (2018)

#36

Post by dotancohen »

smb06 wrote: post #5

I was very apprehensive when i first tried roasted crickets. By the time i was on my second spoonful, i was wondering the same. Why haven't i had more of them? It's the mental block that we've been conditioned with. That bugs are "disgusting" things.

I had a similar experience. I've had fried crickets, they are delicious. It is like eating a tasty crispy french fry.

Re: Why Don’t More Humans Eat Bugs? (2018)

#37

Post by hyperion2010 »

My best case imagination of the future is that we get all our dietary protein from buffalo worms. Insects are some of the most efficient systems for converting plant mater in to human dietary protein, the fact that humans have a disgust response against them is one of the saddest facts impacting the future of our planet.

Re: Why Don’t More Humans Eat Bugs? (2018)

#38

Post by jayalpha »

You can get every kind of bug on some markets in China. They taste disgusting. In Korea you can get silk worms in cans. They taste neutral. If prepared fresh on the street the taste is hardly bearable for any Westerner.

You now buy an insect burger in Germnany https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/22/bug-appetite-g...

Re: Why Don’t More Humans Eat Bugs? (2018)

#39

Post by yesenadam »

DonHopkins wrote: post #27

I was eating out with an "ideologically motivated" vegetarian friend of mine, who doesn't eat meat because it's "ethically wrong", and he ordered crabs. I challenged him (jokingly, but ready to argue my point on aesthetic grounds): "Crabs are just giant bugs, and you're a vegetarian, so why do you eat bugs?" He replied "I eat bugs because they're the enemy!"

He sounds like a fan of Starship Troopers (that or the Gemcraft games) - if you haven't seen it, it's a great movie.

Re: Why Don’t More Humans Eat Bugs? (2018)

#40

Post by Double_a_92 »

sametmax wrote: post #23
kokokokoko wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I encourage you to research what percentage of bugs are actually edible and a reasonable source of protein in northern climates. And then research the eating habits in regions where the percentage of edible and protein rich insects is significantly higher. Within there, I imagine you will find an answer.

Also, insect are hard to find in the winter, and much harder to raise at a reasonable quantity than cows and chickens. And if your 1000 sheeps escape in the wild, you have a chance to get some back, and you will be able to protect you fields against them. It's practical. Plusyou don't have to care about venom when cookinh lamb.

> and much harder to raise at a reasonable quantity than cows and chickens.

Doubt that. Livestock eats up much more energy than its meat gives back (i.e. you would have to feed 7kg of soy protein to get 1kg of meat protein).

With insects such as Mealworms that's much easier. They basically eat anything and they turn it almost 1:1 into valuable protein. Also you can raise them pretty much everywhere, even in crammed indoor farms without it being cruel.

It's sounded more like you were imagining wild crickets being collected from grass fields or something... which is obviously not a good solution.

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