UN says eating insects could tackle world hunger

[DeSwiss]

AlJazeeraEnglish·Published on May 13, 2013

The United Nations says that eating insects might provide one of the answers to global hunger.

There are 19-hundred edible insect species on the planet and 40 tons of insects to every human. Insects are rich in protein, vitamins and minerals and do not damage the environment.

But the UN admits that getting over people's squeamishness will be a big challenge.

Al Jazeera's Jessica Baldwin, reports from London.

[DJ13]

1. "Really, the poor can eat insects"

"Waiter, can I get more caviar please?"

[fasttense]

2. Yes, and fried rat is great for those hungry children in the inner city.

And the uber rich work hard for that humming bird tongue and swallow nest soup while lounging by the pool.

[dixiegrrrrl]

6. There was a fascinating doc about Indian families who live on rat.

Their "job" ..their caste...make a living by catching rats in farmer's fields, trapping them, and then laying the whole unskinned creatures on fires, cooking them, then skinning and eating as they go.
Doesn't offend my sensibilities...we eat cows that Hindus consider sacred.
you eat what you are taught is good to eat, so for some, rat is good.
Krispy bugs? Uhhh...bit of a stretch for my comfort zone.

[rdharma]

3. That's some good GRUB........ literally!

[DeSwiss]

8. Grubs also in BBQ, Cheddar Cheese and Mexican Spice!

[rdharma]

13. Yummy!

But my favorites are blotfly larvae!

[marble falls]

4. I think not wasting an estimated close to 50% of the worlds food production might ...

help. What about not paying corporate farms subsidies to not grow certain food crops?

[Trillo]

5. I'm wondering if grasshoppers (or some similar insect) could be breaded with tempura,

fried, and served with sweet and sour sauce. Could be tasty.

Maybe need to prepare the insect, like removing the legs, perhaps par boiled as a first step. There might be "premium" parts of the insects which are especially chewy, or something, like with lobster, where the tail meat is the premium part. Could be like learning to dice onions, or debone a chicken.

Not really sure, but I could see some folks (with too much money) paying a heck of a lot to have a gourmet Arthropoda meal.

[DeSwiss]

9. I've had chocolate covered ants.....

...which tasted mostly to me like crunchy chocolate.

- But yeah, tempura sounds nice. And for most people I know, if you fry it'll get eaten.....

[Trillo]

14. I was curious.... Thai cuisine

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_cuisine#Insects

Certain insects are also eaten in Thailand, especially in Isan and in the North. Many markets in Thailand feature stalls which sell deep-fried grasshoppers, crickets (chingrit, Thai: จิ้งหรีด , bee larvae, silkworm (non mai, Thai: หนอนไหม , ant eggs (khai mot, Thai: ไข่มด and termites. The culinary creativity even extends to naming: one tasty larva, which is also known under the name "bamboo worm" (non mai phai, Thai: หนอนไม้ไผ่, Omphisa fuscidentalis),[39] is colloquially called "express train" (rot duan; Thai: รถด่วน due to its appearance.

Most of the insects taste fairly bland when deep-fried, somewhat like popcorn and prawns. But when deep-fried together with kaffir lime leaves, chilies and garlic, the insects become an excellent snack to go with a drink. In contrast to the bland taste of most of these insects, the maeng da or maelong da na (Thai: แมลงดานา, Lethocerus indicus) has been described as having a very penetrating taste, similar to that of a very ripe gorgonzola cheese. This giant water bug is famously used in a chili dip called nam phrik maengda. Some insects, such as ant eggs and silk worms, are also eaten boiled in a soup in Isan, or used in omelets in northern Thailand.

[DeSwiss]

15. Whoa!

- So I'm thinking that these bad boys don't taste like chicken, right? Yum!


Nam prik Maeng Da – Thai water beetle and fish dip

http://chef-a-gogo.com/nam-prik-maeng-da-water-beetle-fish-dip/

[Moostache]

7. Well, people are more than willing to dine on crustaceans...

I don't think its so much "bugs" that makes people squeamish as the presentation...look at a shrimp, lobster or crab as an example:


Not too much distance between those critters and insects for food really...

And we already have some insect delicacies:

[DeSwiss]

10. And for most of those insect delicacies.....

...you don't even have to waste gas going to the store to buy.

- Just get out the lawnmower (or your scissors), cut the grass and it's dinner time!

[grahamhgreen]

11. I say Eating The Rich would be more effective!

[DeSwiss]

12. Here's the 'how-to' video.....

[bowens43]

16. the bias here in the replies is nothing more than a cultural bias.

There is nothing wrong with eating insects. They are eaten in many parts of the world.

[fasttense]

18. The hell with eating insects let's just move on to soylent green.

But really, we are polluting and destroying the planet, corporations have a monopoly on our food and are keeping it from us, so let's just move on to eating everything else. Eventually you get to a point where there is nothing left to eat.

[jakeXT]

17. Cicadas: "The Shrimp of the Land"

Billions of bite-sized snacks are about to appear in backyards across the Northeast.

After nearly two decades living under the earth, cicadas are about to shake off the dirt and invade our great outdoors. And they’ll be ripe for feasting, says Isa Betancourt, an entomologist from the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University.

“It’s a delicacy that’s rare,” says Betancourt, who’s known to dine on a few bugs from time to time. She calls cicadas "the shrimp of the land.”


http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/national-international/NATL-VERSION-Cicadas-The-Shrimp-of-the-Land-207203031.html