Eating Bugs

[absyntheNsugar]

This is serious. Has anyone here eaten bugs by choice?

With all this talk of going veg and the counter that it can actually harm the environment to do so - I thought I'd offer an alternative that makes sense and is only prevented by our cultural hangups.

When I lived in Thailand, we would often eat water beetles, silkworm larvae and ant eggs. Sound disgusting? Nothing of the sort. Water beetles taste like almonds, ant eggs are like nothing you've ever had (and they are delicious), and silkworm larvae are like cashews.

In LA I found a restaraunt that does amazing things with bugs - some dishes you'd never know you were dining on bugs. They were all well cooked and flavorful.

Bugs are a healthy alternative to meat, they taste great and don't carry the diseases that mammals do, AND they are protein rich and virtually fat free.

[Kamika]

1. yes

Ive eaten some in korea.. nearly throwed up

[absyntheNsugar]

4. Probably had the wrong bugs

or...you were probably thinking "I'm eating bugs...this is gross"

Try eating a disk that doesn't look like bugs - not sure where to find one but the first time I had ant eggs, I didnd't know what it was.

Tasted just like fine Thai curry to me, with a real rich sauce.

[Kamika]

17. I was thinking it

It really didn't taste bad but the fact it was bugs made me vomit

[Snow]

5. Bundegee! Gotta love 'em.....

toasted on a street corner, sold in a newspaper cone, well salted, maybe 100 won per cone (now you know when I was last there), chomp 'em down with a pot of mahkullee and some friends. You chomp down the bundegee, not your friends. Anyway, these are technically the silkworm pupae, not the larvae - is that what nastied you out, Kamika? They do smell a little strong, don't they?
(Feel free to walk off muttering about weird Peace Corps Volunteers. The word "nom" is not allowed, however)

[absyntheNsugar]

6. You were in the Peace Corps too?

I did Thailand 92-95 - where were you? Korea I assume...

[Snow]

8. Yuppers - Korea Group 18, 71-73

heck of a place. I don't think we had vols in Thailand - oh, wait, yes we did, I met some when on vacation in Hong Kong. I did public health, tb control. Heard there were a lot of health vols in Thailand, too. In fact, one of my old PC buds went there for his real job, STD control for the CDC. His wife was in fact one of his county health workers from his vol days - she did STD control for that county. A ton of us ended up going into public health after peace corps. The country doesn't know what it's got in its RPCV's.

[absyntheNsugar]

12. Thailand group 102

Yeah I was part of the HIV Education program - I think that's all that's left there now...they were shrinking their other programs (Soil and Water Conservation, Nutrition, Fisheries, and Filariasis Prevention)

You're right - this country has doesn't know what it's got in us :)

There have been some famous returned volunteers through time...Paul Tsongas and even Bob Vila were PCV's!

[Snow]

15. Hmmm. You didn't by any chance know Yaco, did you?

although he mighta been out of there by then.....

[camero]

2. Bugs....The other white meat

[KCDem]

3. I've got "Man Eating Bugs"

Good book with lots of yucky pics.

But I personally could never do it. :puke:

[scarlet_owl]

18. I read that book. I thought it was neat.

I think I could do it, but the hardest part would be the scratchy legs. I think I would have to remove the legs or antennae or anything else that might make swallowing difficult. And I would stay away from the squishy ones. Fried mealworms seem to be the most appetizing to me.

[Cleita]

7. Errh, if you've ever eaten shrimp or lobster, they have

bug relatives on land, so just because it came from the sea doesn't make it any higher on the food chain.

[spinbaby]

11. Cockroaches of the sea

Same difference, it's all invertebrates with hard shells.

I don't think I could eat caterpillars with squishy green filling though.

[Intelsucks]

9. Dung Beetle... That sounds very appetizing.

n/t

[BlueJazz]

10. Your post:

"Bugs are a healthy alternative to meat, they taste great and don't carry the diseases that mammals do, AND they are protein rich and virtually fat free".

...just showed me how backwards and "programmed" I am.

I'm sure Bugs are wonderful but I still believe that
"Lips that touch bugs will never touch mine"
...Now if you're talking about a certain kind of Roach then maybe I'll compromise. :)

[CanuckAmok]

13. I read somewhere that...

the average North American eats between 100 and 200 spiders in his lifetime, all while we're sleeping. They crawl into peoples' mouths and are swallowed without us even knowing it.

[tainted_chimp]

16. Holy heebie jeebies! n/t

.

[jimbo fett]

14. Is there a shortage of food where you are? Are we running out of taters?

Of course, I have a phobia about bugs so I don't want to see them, let alone eat one.