Coming up quick on February 18th, anthropologists everywhere will be celebrating World Anthropology Day. This day serves as an opportunity for anthropologists to celebrate and participate in their discipline with the public around them.
I will be celebrating the day by handing out cupcakes made with cricket powder on Wayne State Campus, and
ENTOMO FARMS WANTS TO GIVE YOU FREE SAMPLES TO USE IN YOUR OWN EVENT!
Just contact me here and I will put you in touch with them to get your own whole or powdered crickets and mealworms! Act fast so that we can get them shipped to you in plenty of time.
ENTOMO FARMS WANTS TO GIVE YOU FREE SAMPLES TO USE IN YOUR OWN EVENT!
Just contact me here and I will put you in touch with them to get your own whole or powdered crickets and mealworms! Act fast so that we can get them shipped to you in plenty of time.
I also want to share some information and resources with you here so that you will best be able to incorporate edible insects into your World Anthropology Day plans.
One thing the American Anthropological Association notes about the day is that anthropologists are innovators and creative thinkers who contribute to every industry, and in my particular case, that industry is the sustainable production of insects as food here in the United States. But for any anthropologist, edible insects are a fun way to engage with different food cultures as well as with a real "paleo" food.
One thing the American Anthropological Association notes about the day is that anthropologists are innovators and creative thinkers who contribute to every industry, and in my particular case, that industry is the sustainable production of insects as food here in the United States. But for any anthropologist, edible insects are a fun way to engage with different food cultures as well as with a real "paleo" food.
About one half of the world’s countries have cultures that utilize insects in their diets, resulting in over 2,000 known edible insect species. Of the countries that do not eat insects, the vast majority is in the northern hemisphere, and thus is mostly European or strongly European-influenced. Therefore, it is Western culture that is the outlier when it comes to insect consumption. The reasons behind our bias against insects are vast and complex, as they are part of a cultural phenomenon that has been being shaped since Columbus first "discovered" America. Edible insects were stigmatized by explorers; couple that with a northern environment where insects are not an abundant and readily available resource like they are in tropical areas of the world, and it is not difficult to see why they would fall out of favor.
With that knowledge, though, we can look at insects as the valuable food resource that they are. Crickets are gaining some popularity in the US and Europe, being incorporated into protein bars, protein shakes, as well as all sorts of snack foods. The momentum for crickets seems to come from people already having a positive opinion of crickets compared to other insects, maybe because of Jiminy Cricket in Pinocchio, or because they are considered lucky in some East Asian cultures. However, crickets are not the most popular edible insect in the world. That achievement belongs to beetle larvae. If you wanted to partake in the beetle larvae trend, then I suggest trying some mealworms! Not only are food-grade mealworms available here, but they are also a lot less intimidating than something like a palm weevil larva.
With that knowledge, though, we can look at insects as the valuable food resource that they are. Crickets are gaining some popularity in the US and Europe, being incorporated into protein bars, protein shakes, as well as all sorts of snack foods. The momentum for crickets seems to come from people already having a positive opinion of crickets compared to other insects, maybe because of Jiminy Cricket in Pinocchio, or because they are considered lucky in some East Asian cultures. However, crickets are not the most popular edible insect in the world. That achievement belongs to beetle larvae. If you wanted to partake in the beetle larvae trend, then I suggest trying some mealworms! Not only are food-grade mealworms available here, but they are also a lot less intimidating than something like a palm weevil larva.
Insects are an animal-based food. They offer similar nutritional offerings as traditional livestock, including being high in protein, rich in the essential amino acids, a good source of essential omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, and a host of other micronutrients such as iron and magnesium. Unlike other animal foods, they require much less resources to produce. It is an understatement to say that amount of land or water it takes to farm something like crickets is less than what is needed for traditional livestock like pigs and cows.
Many people are worried about how our current food system is going to sustain the global population as it approaches 10 billion people by the year 2050. The worry is not necessarily one of having enough food, we throw millions of pounds of food away every day here in the United States. The worry is that that system is going to have an upper limit for how long we can use it, because over-producing is going to continue to strip our environmental resources. Sustainable food sources are going to be important when that happens, so wevmight as well start now.
Besides how bad meat-eating is for our environment, there is also the animal welfare bit that turns many eaters into vegetarians or vegans. However, humans are omnivores and it takes considerable conscious effort to make sure that we get all the nutrients we need from an entirely plant-based diet. Being able to make those choices is a privilege of both education and money. Insects like crickets, who live in dark-cramped spaces naturally and are killed at commercial farms via torpor-inducing freezing, offer an interesting caveat to the ethical dilemma. Their pain and suffering is minimal. Additionally, it is known and controlled, unlike industrial harvesting of crops, where pesticides kill all sorts of insects and small animals get killed in farm equipment. If you are not producing all of your food yourself, there is no perfect answer to the perfect ethical diet. Insects, however, provide an appealing option for making high-volume food production better all around.
Besides how bad meat-eating is for our environment, there is also the animal welfare bit that turns many eaters into vegetarians or vegans. However, humans are omnivores and it takes considerable conscious effort to make sure that we get all the nutrients we need from an entirely plant-based diet. Being able to make those choices is a privilege of both education and money. Insects like crickets, who live in dark-cramped spaces naturally and are killed at commercial farms via torpor-inducing freezing, offer an interesting caveat to the ethical dilemma. Their pain and suffering is minimal. Additionally, it is known and controlled, unlike industrial harvesting of crops, where pesticides kill all sorts of insects and small animals get killed in farm equipment. If you are not producing all of your food yourself, there is no perfect answer to the perfect ethical diet. Insects, however, provide an appealing option for making high-volume food production better all around.
There are many other resources available on my blog that may be of interest, from lecture slides, recommended documentary, interviews with me, and a short youtube video produced by Wayne State. I hope that you will find these resources helpful!
RSS Feed
