Maggots: A taste of food's future

[yortsed snacilbuper]

The black soldier fly’s remarkable ability to transform nearly any kind of organic waste into protein could revolutionize global food supplies

In one year, a single acre of black soldier fly larvae can produce more protein than 3,000 acres of cattle or 130 acres of soybeans. Such yields, combined with the need to find cheap, reliable protein for a global population projected to jump 30 percent, to 9.8 billion by 2050, present big opportunity for the black soldier fly.

The United Nations, which already warns that animal-rich diets cannot stretch that far long term, is encouraging governments and businesses to turn to insects to fulfill the planet’s protein needs.
People who’ve seen what black soldier fly larvae can do often speak of them in evangelical tones. Jeff Tomberlin, a professor of entomology at Texas A&M University, said the bug industry could “save lives, stabilize economies, create jobs and protect the environment.”

“There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be doing this at some scale throughout the world,” he said.
So why aren’t we?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/07/03/maggots-could-revolutionize-global-food-supply-heres-how/?utm_term=.6eb41fc99499&wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1

[MineralMan]

1. They Taste Just Like Soylent Green. Yum!

[OhZone]

2. I ain't eatin no Trump Supporters!

hahha

[Skidmore]

3. Haha..

Me neither. They're toxic.

[mopinko]

4. at least use them for animal feed.

i know of chicken keepers who raise these guys for their flocks. google diy black soldier flies, and see the spiffy set ups.
supposed to be very easy to raise and harvest, also.

[Kaleva]

5. A couple of good videos

[smirkymonkey]

6. No, just no.

Here is where I go vegetarian. I couldn't do it.

[Blue_true]

9. Yep, that would turn me into a vegan real fast. nt

[Fix The Stupid]

7. FFS - "...global population projected to jump 30 percent, to 9.8 billion by 2050"

Let's just ignore this. Propose band-aid solutions to pacify the stupid.

Never getting to the root of the problem...

TOO MANY FUCKING PEOPLE ON THIS PLANET!

Wake up, FFS.

[Marengo]

8. And the solution for this is...?

[Blue_true]

10. What do you propose?

Kill off some people?

Declare that each couple can have only one child?

My guess is once we go over a sustainable level, Mother Nature will do the dirty work for us, to our dismay.

[gulliver]

14. Population growth is leveling off.

We just need to make things sustainable.

[Wounded Bear]

11. Soylent White, I guess...

[backscatter712]

12. OK, who's seen Blade Runner 2049.

Some choice cuisine in that movie...

When the ecosystem's so FUBAR you're down to growing maggots and nematodes because nothing else can survive...

[ProudLib72]

13. Maggot steak sounds good right about now

With a maggot protein shake to wash it down.

[dalton99a]

15. "Honestly, they taste like Fritos"

Back at Symton, Taranow pops a couple of oven-dried soldier fly larvae into her mouth. “Honestly, they taste like Fritos,” she says.

They have a pleasant, neutral, nutty flavour. Slather them in powdered ranch or barbecue seasoning and it’s easy to imagine bags of them flying off the shelves in convenience stores.

The dried larvae also have an advantage over other insect edibles in that they don’t really look like bugs. They have few identifiable buggy characteristics – no legs to get stuck in your teeth, no eyes to stare at you. It would be easy to mistake them for some sort of exotic grain.