Definitely makes me think of the scene from Snowpiercer (spoiler alert) when they discover the protein blocks they eat are made of cockroaches.
Farm 432
31–40 of 151 posts
Re: Farm 432
#32The funny thing for me — it is less the insects that are off putting and more the sterile environment they are raised in.
Re: Farm 432
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
Lobsters too. Can you imagine steaming and eating a two-pound cockroach? But that's basically what a lobster is. I predict that techniques will be found to make good plant-based meat substitutes or other artificial meat before anyone figures out how to make us happy with eating insects.
> Can you imagine steaming and eating a two-pound cockroach? But that's basically what a lobster is. Cockroaches are insects. Lobsters are not. There is a huge difference there.
Insects are more closely related to lobsters and shrimp than they are to spiders and millipedes, and genetic studies suggest that insects evolved from crustaceans:
Re: Farm 432
#34Is insect protein better or more nutritious then protein directly from a plant?
Re: Farm 432
#35Why not just let the animals pasture and eat grass instead of feeding them grain? Factory farms are the big problem.
>>Factory farms are the big problem.
Is it wrong to say that factory farms are efficient and therefore less of a strain on resources?
Re: Farm 432
#36The article mentions killing by freezing. Does freezing change the texture of the bugs?
It might just be an efficient way of killing them that everyone can use. According to 'Insects Are Food': http://www.insectsarefood.com/recipes.html "Prior to preparing your crickets for a meal place them inside a plastic container or storage bag and keep them in the refrigerator at least for an hour or until you are ready to use them. This will not kill the crickets, but rather slow down their metabolism, inducing a…
Thanks for this fantastic answer Steve. Comment of the week!
Re: Farm 432
#37I talked to my kids about eating insects the other day with the expected results in the form of 'ew' and such. We've spent so much time in modern society associating insects with disease it's hard to dissassociate. For some reason shrimp which are essentially bugs are no problem because (I think) they come from the ocean, so there's an obvious mental line that can dissassociate them from other bugs. This is a great i…
Lobsters are closely related to Spiders... yet are considered a delicacy. I even think to my self as I eat lobster, "spider, spider, spider" yet I never get grossed out at eating it. On the other hand I can barely hold a spider much less eat one...
Re: Farm 432
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
A lot of what we eat (steaks, chicken nuggetts, hamburger, bacon) is dissasociated with the source form of the meat. This should probably be the inroad. If people get used to the idea that they're ingesting insects anyhow, then maybe the rest gets easier? I dunno..
What is the point of eating insects, though? Why not just eat lentils?
An excellent question, I hope someone weighs in.
Re: Farm 432
#39I've realized this breaks a willful ignorance I have over animal-based food. Coming from afar, I can put aside the realities of meat eating and imagine chickens and cows dancing hand in hand in a lush green field enjoying their short lives.. (and yes, I can do this, otherwise I'd be a vegetarian.)
With Farm 432 in my kitchen, however, the idea of life multiplying to keep my belly full is right in my face. How sickeningly first world.. :-) I actually wondered if it was a project designed to evoke such reflection.
Re: Farm 432
#40Reminds me of the movie Snowpiercer, where there is a scene with an industrial size device that creates protein bars from insects.
Geez, spoiler aler... never mind...