Crickets Are 122 Calories, Small Grasshoppers Are 153 Calories & A Serving Of Red Ant Eggs Is 83 Cal

[Me.]

So it's coming down to this then?

"The UN's Food & Agricultural Organization is working on a policy to promote insects as food worldwide. Turns out that beetles, crickets and many other types are rather nutritious. A serving of grasshoppers, for instance, packs nearly the same protein punch as ground beef. And insects can be farmed more cheaply and on much less land."...cont...in the health section of the September 2010 National Geographic.

[NutmegYankee]

1. And puking it all up costs 10 calories

:smoke:

To be fair, I've eaten bugs for survival training. I'd never eat bugs for normal food.

[RandomThoughts]

2. The green mile doctrine is not accurate.

It is a trap to get people to think taking bad in them can be for some better purpose.

Although in conflicts that can happen, it is not the way I think things work.

[Jackpine Radical]

8. Someday I'm going to catch you

saying something coherent.

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. I gave up

[Maru Kitteh]

14. If you do - make sure to get a screen shot.

Otherwise nobody will believe you.

[awoke_in_2003]

19. It is good to have a dream. nt

[Systematic Chaos]

38. I understand exactly what he said.

It was pretty epic, too. :)

[Morning Dew]

83. I love the idea of the Green Mile Doctrine.

Maybe not epic, but food for thought and probably goes down better than grasshoppers.

[tavalon]

43. I actually have

His screen name is very accurate as he takes what's being discussed and riffs on it. I've actually come to enjoy his posts. I used to feel annoyed because I didn't think he was getting it and whether he is or isn't, well, it's not for me to say. But his random thoughts can be interesting and sometimes thought provoking.

[Regret My New Name]

56. lol

[Chan790]

70. I understand RT perfectly.

He's peace-loving, enlightened, thinks about things and wants the beer money that's owed to him. What's incoherent about that?

[librechik]

81. RT is the H2O Man of nonsequiturs n/t

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

88. Not bloody likely.

I think there's some kind of performance art going on. DU goes dada.

[Capn Sunshine]

89. I thought we went over this. It's a computer program

Designed to interact on internet discussion board threads.

[SammyWinstonJack]

100. *snicker*

:spray:

[NutmegYankee]

27. Is it just me or was that thought just...

...totally random?

[Solly Mack]

3. A lot of cultures eat insects already....by choice. Throughout history

people have eaten insects.

[WinkyDink]

49. "By choice"? I suppose the other choice is starvation?

[Solly Mack]

54. Uh...no. The - by choice- is just what it means - they choose to, they want to, they enjoy it.

Throughout time people have had to rely on insects for nourishment - for some because they could go hungry otherwise....and for some because it was the exotic...a delicacy. Still today, many cultures eat insects because they want to...by choice. They like the taste.
None of that implies that some people aren't going hungry and are forced to rely on insects as a food source. The ONLY thing I said was a lot of cultures... a lot not being all....eat insects by choice...because they do. It's a fact.

It's a cultural bias...the eating of insects as food being strange or odd or different or somehow wrong or insulting ....since many people do eat insects with great relish.

I'm not big on eating insects but I can't pretend that in a lot of places in the world that other people think and act differently from me. My first reaction was - why not work to get real food to people...then I realized that was my bias talking...because fact is, insects are real food to many people and my being grossed out by eating bugs doesn't change the facts.

Some people eat dog. Some eat snakes. Some people eat horses. Some people eat worms.

Some because at one time it was that or starve. Some because it was exotic...and a lot of people still eat dog & horse & worms & snakes because they like the taste.

[Phil The Cat]

67. Can't eat bugs!

OK, maybe I'll try, but it better be some INCREDIBLE relish!

Not the bland, grey-green, watery stuff at the arena, but some TOP NOTCH stuff, fresh sweet pickles with some crunch and color!

If it reduces animal agriculture, and all the damage THAT causes, thumbs up!

[Phil The Cat]

68. Dupe

Sorry - Dupe!

[slampoet]

101. Don't display your ignorance like it is something to be proud of.

[DeSwiss]

4. K&R

- I wonder how many calories there are in your typical Wall Street banker?

[JVS]

10. Surprisingly few.

I think you'd better have seconds. :evilgrin:

[tavalon]

45. Nope, they are often quite fatty

I'd be more worried about cholesterol, though.

[tavalon]

44. Best response yet!

And actually, I would feel less icky eating a Wall Street banker than a cockroach. But, hey, that's just me.

[lumberjack_jeff]

62. I think they forgot that chapter in leviticus

"Thou shalt not eat banker meat, it is an abomination".

[Matariki]

77. Now you're talking!

[ProdigalJunkMail]

5. read that in NG this month...

and it is no biggie...insects make up a portion of the diet for loads of cultures. even in the US we eat them...even though it is simply because a certain amount is allowed into the food supply...don't ever ask what's in your peanut butter if you are squeamish about bugs!

Oh, and there was a good section on Tut and his relatives, as well...

sP

[Me.]

11. Tut Is The Reason We Bought It

And while it is true that many cultures eat insects I think that the UN going down this route is a major cop-out. Are they sating we can't produce enough wheat, rice etc. to feed the world properly and if so shouldn't they be addressing that rather than encouraging bug dinners? What about producing various types of "plumpy" for mass consumption?

[nadinbrzezinski]

15. It is peak food

and we reached it. Peak oil, since we use a very industrial agriculture dependent on ... oil... you do the math.

[Me.]

16. Quite

And this being the point you'd think people would begin to pay attention. But what am I thinking, there's no global warming, food shortages or anything as uncomfortable and scary as that.

[nadinbrzezinski]

17. Well there is

and reading some scientific papers... it is not nice. Some folks actually expect extinction. Others, a dramatic population crash (I'm in that school by the way). Most people expect something to happen that will not be nice. Of course you have the very few ...who deny any problems. And all will be honky dory.

I am surprised that the end of the world fans (You know who I am talking about) don't embrace the complete and full population crash... oh wait, that means scinecy stuff...

[Me.]

32. The silent tsunami

“Hunger now afflicts almost a billion people in 60 countries ... and kills 25,000 a day. A special report by Rob Edwards to explain the background to our Christmas appeal

A silent tsunami of hunger is engulfing the world, afflicting nearly a billion people in 60 countries and killing 25,000 men, women and children every day. The global food crisis, triggered by high prices, shortages and bad weather, is deepening as the world's economy moves into recession. Millions more people are now facing poverty, starvation, disease and death.

The World Bank is predicting that 967 million people will now go hungry in 2008, 44 million more than in 2007. That means that almost one in every six people on the planet is not getting enough food to stay healthy.

Children's growth is being stunted, immune systems are being destroyed and fatal diseases like diarrhoea, measles and malaria are spreading.

"This is a tragic loss of human and economic potential", says a report from the World Bank.”…cont…

http://www.heraldscotland.com/the-silent-tsunami-1.826857

[tavalon]

47. I'm in your camp

but damn, I wish we could pick and choose. It's going to be the most poverty stricken who will go first. And that's not fair. I want life to be fair, dammit!!!!

[elleng]

6. Check out Andrew Zimmern on Food Channel.

http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Bizarre_Foods/Video/Andrews_Top_5_Adventures_In_Cambodia

[Historic NY]

7. Yeah but when you add chocolate.

[Posteritatis]

9. Squick away, but that's both true and reasonable. (nt)

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. I've eaten grasshoppers

fried...

And ants.

They are traditional food items in many areas of the world, and an excellent source of protein.

Hell, grasshoppers were served with fried insects of another type, during a fifteen year old party at a ranch near Tijuana. With warm tortillas, lemon juice, chili sauce and beans they were excellent.

Now this is not something I'd offer the average American... we have a problem with this. But in many places in Mexico, for example, insects are part of the traditional diet. So having insects is not something you are forced to do, but you do.

Oh and that party, the family offered me these things, as part of what you honor your guests with... and I was surprised just how damn tasty they are.

They were the kind of worms that grow around the plants used to make tequila by the way.

[kristopher]

20. Try crickets

simmered in a mixture of equal parts soy sauce, mirin and sake. Add sugar to broth until it suites your taste. Bring to boil and reduce to simmer for 20 minutes or so.

Serve hot or cold with white rice.

[nadinbrzezinski]

26. I would have to do that myself

I guess the two conures will try it. Hubby, only if I don't tell him what they are.

[alfredo]

37. As a former cyclist and biker, I can say I've eaten a lot of bugs.

[IDemo]

18. What about Soylent Green?

[OnionPatch]

34. Lol, my first thought

Soylent green is people!!!! Er, uh, grasshoppers!!

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

21. I won't trouble my beautiful mind about hungry people eating foods outside my comfort zone.

Let them eat cake instead.

[Historic NY]

36. Hi Babs....!!

[Duer 157099]

22. I've watched enough survival type shows to already be OK with eating bugs

I don't know what the big deal is.

Survivorman
Man vs Wild
Man Woman Wild
Dual Survival

I love all those shows and boy some of the things they have to eat and drink... well, bugs are pretty tame and usually tasty too.

[Fleshdancer]

23. They're low cal until Paula Deen gets a hold of them

a handful of grasshoppers when sauteed with 2 sticks of butter goes straight to the thighs. Nutritious my a**.

:rofl:

[Duer 157099]

24. Hah, last night I was watching Iron Chef

and Alton made a funny comment about one of the chefs who was using lots of butter.

He said something like: "...and she's sauteeing that broccolini in a Paula Deen of butter."

[no_hypocrisy]

25. How many points would that be on Weight Watchers?

[flvegan]

28. Glad I'm vegan.

[Better Believe It]

29. What about cockroaches? They are easy to raise. I once had an army of them in New York!

[nadinbrzezinski]

30. In some places in Asia they are actually eaten

[existentialist]

31. scattered thoughts on eating insects

1) I've done it. Specifically I have eaten grasshoppers and ants. About the only things that grasshoppers have to recommend them is that they are kosher, and that that are high protein--which, knowing that, is why I tried one. It tasted awful. Later I found out that grasshoppers can carry tapeworms, so if you are going to eat them perhaps they should be cooked.

2) Ants, on the other hand, and least the species that I have tried, taste pretty good--sort of like raisins. I understand that the US armed forces survival manual recommends them. There are so many species of ants, however, that it has to be dangerous to overgeneralize, and of course, some species bite back themselves in rather nasty ways--some also sting.

3) I also remember reading Claude Levi-Strauss' Tristes Tropiques, wherein he relates his experience with some South American tribes, and where in his research he found himself needing to keep a promise and eat some of the beetle larvae that the tribe cultivated by placing a cut in a certain type of tree, and then coming back a few weeks later to harvest the larvae that they knew would be there by then. He reported them to be delectable--like lobster dipped in melted butter. I've never had the opportunity to try them myself, but given the opportunity how could one turn it down after such a recommendation?

[Fumesucker]

33. I read "King Rat" many years ago..

It was about the Japanese POW camps in WWII..

The prisoners saved the cockroaches and rats for the ill because that was the most nutritious food they had available...

[alfredo]

35. I like shrimp.

[WinkyDink]

50. Lobsters, as well.

[alfredo]

59. Arthropods taste great.

[Posteritatis]

69. Third of those is probably a little past sell-by... (nt)

[alfredo]

79. When you're drunk it doesn't matter

[Retrograde]

92. OK, where do you get the deep-fried trilobites?

I've never had insects (other than what you get in food normally) but I'll cheerfully eat crayfish, which aren't that different really. I've tried free-range snails (they eat my basil, I'll eat them) and my problem with them is they have no actual taste -they're just a holder for sauces.

If people got into eating bugs we could probably breed them to have more meat per critter.

[JoeyT]

39. I find it highly amusing that people are so grossed out at the thought of eating bugs.

Especially since they've usually eaten and often enjoy something and that's at least as disgusting as a bug.
Oysters, snails, crawfish, lobster, shrimp, sea cucumbers, crabs, jellyfish, etc.
We've been conditioned to think eating a grasshopper is gross while eating a raw oyster (Or a cow, for that matter) is perfectly ok.

Grasshoppers aren't too bad when cooked. Ants are kind of good. Scorpions are too. Giant water bugs taste a little like seaweed. (The venom in the last two doesn't survive cooking) Crickets taste like concentrated evil and hatred no matter what you do with them.

[Swamp Rat]

40. Mmm! We LOVE dem mudbugs here in Louisiana

and we know how to berl 'em too. :9

[JoeyT]

55. We love 'em in Alabama too.

I just get mocked when I eat them because I have to pull the guts out. ;)

I'll be glad when I move to NOLA so I'll be able to get them more often than once a year.

[Odin2005]

76. MMMM! those look delish!

[Capitalocracy]

85. Whoops, read the Bible

Shouldn't be eating that. Says so right on the same page where it says you can't be gay.

:evilgrin:

[WinkyDink]

52. It's the beady eyes and the crawly legs, the wings...There is nothing WRONG with disgust.

It's not like your position is a majority one. Humans naturally recoil at insects.

[GoCubsGo]

61. Yep. It's all about perception.

There is really not a whole lot of difference between a shrimp or crawfish and an insect, when it comes down to it. Arthropods is arthropods--hard on the outside, soft on the inside. I've been told that crickets actually taste vaguely like shrimp. I've not had the opportunity to eat crickets, but I can tell you that meal worms have a nice, nutty flavor to them.

[Skittles]

71. um

I think everything you listed is gross

[Odin2005]

75. You forgot squid and octopus.

I had octopus in a dish I had at a Mexican restaurant I like, good stuff!.

[BreweryYardRat]

87. You can get canned octopus at most grocery stores, actually.

Look in the "ethnic foods" or "canned meats" section.

It goes great over fried rice.

[a la izquierda]

41. This is somewhat normal cuisine

for certain indigenous groups in Mexico.

But what have indians ever taught us?
:sarcasm:

[eShirl]

42. Wouldn't the exoskeleton get caught in your teeth?

I avoid popcorn for that reason.

Grubs might be okay though, especially the ones that taste like lobster. I love lobster.

[backscatter712]

95. What, you've never eaten shrimp? n/t

[sl8]

46. 153 Calories per 100 gram serving, not per grasshopper.

The number of calories for crickets & grasshoppers seemed awfully high to me. Turns out, that figure is for Calories per serving, which is 100 grams (~ 3.5 oz.) in this case.

http://blogs.ngm.com/blog_central/2010/08/eat-the-beetles-with-special-bug-recipes.html

I'd hate to see folks restricting their grasshopper intake out of misplaced caloric concerns.

[hobbit709]

51. And how many calories do you expend in chasing them down?

[sl8]

53. Me personally? None.

I make the cat catch 'em. But, mum's the word - she thinks it's her idea.

[spin]

78. Here's some grasshopper recipes ...

Garlic Butter Fried Grasshoppers
1/4 cup butter
6 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup cleaned insects*

Melt butter in fry pan. Reduce heat. Sauté garlic in butter for 5 minutes. Add insects. Continue sautéing for 10 - 15
minutes, stirring occasionally. From Orkin

Grasshopper Fritters
from 'Ronald Taylor's "Butterflies in My Stomach"

3/4 cup sifted flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3/4 c milk
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 c grasshoppers
1 pt. heavy cream beaten stiff

Sift flour, baking powder and salt together into a bowl. Slowly add milk and beat until smooth. Add egg and beat well.
Pluck off grasshopper wings and legs, heads optional. Dip insects in egg batter and deep fry. Salt and serve.
from Amazing Grasshopper Recipes.
http://www.faculty.de.gcsu.edu/~cbader/ghprecwithinsects.html

[Me.]

82. So You Think You'll Have Butter & Flour?

Not to mention eggs and milk?

[spin]

98. Every once in a while we get a break out of monster grasshoppers ...

in Florida.

The next time it happens, I'll try to cook up some and see how they taste.

[Me.]

99. But You're Missng The Point

The UN isn't pushing these as cuisine, they're instead of

[spin]

104. I understand that and I see your point ...

I just was regretting that I hadn't thought of eating the large grasshoppers to last time we had an outbreak. (I would have probably been the only person in my family to try them.) They were a real pain in the ass and very hard to kill as pesticides had little effect.

However, further research revealed that the Lubber grasshopper is toxic.


I doubt that grasshoppers will catch on as a fast food treat in the U.S. and end up on McDonald's menu. They probably would be healthier than the burgers and fries. I would be willing to give them a try. If my order didn't taste good, I would just pour hot sauce on it. I would probably use Matouks as it has a great taste and is reasonably hot.

[deacon]

48. In that case, I'll have an order of the red ants with a glass of keeee yantee. Thank you. n/t

[autorank]

57. "The people have no food. Well, let them eat cake" n/t

[unblock]

58. i had a cricket fajita on a business trip in mexico.

the client was most impressed.

i don't see what the big deal is. if you can wrap your head around eating fish, chickens, and cows, why should crickets be a problem?

[undeterred]

60. ok, what about roaches?

:shrug:

[TexasObserver]

63. I'm not sure I can get by on 25 crickets a day.

Who knew the little bastards were such diet disasters? Eat a few candy kisses, but stay away from the crickets. A pint of ice cream v. 5 crickets? Tough choice.

[eppur_se_muova]

64. http://www.food-insects.com/

I've known for a long time that termites are considered edible, and some beetle grubs are considered a delicacy. Since termites can feed on paper and wood waste this is potentially a good way to convert some trash to food -- and termite nests can be grown indoors.

If you're disgusted by caviar or escargot, insects/larvae may not appeal to you either.

[gauguin57]

65. How many calories in escargot?

I know they're technically mollusks, but they still look like a bunch of big old bugs, lovingly drenched in butter and garlic!

[NickB79]

66. If you've ever harvested grain on a farm, you know we all eat LOTS of insects

When we'd unload the combine into gravity bins and bring the oats or wheat out of the field for storage, the top several INCHES were nothing but squirming masses of catepillars, grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, spiders, mice, snakes, frogs, toads, etc that were living in the fields. Now and then a pheasant or rabbit would get caught in the action. Hell, once my dad hit a DEER with the combine (we did stop to clean that out before proceeding, though).

All of them were augured up into the storage bins for drying and future processing. Just more protein when they're ground down into animal or human feed.

[Odin2005]

74. Thanks, I just had supper!

:puke:

[Codeine]

72. Meh. Bugs won't hurt you. You eat them all the time. nt

[Odin2005]

73. What's the problem with this? bugs are not much different from crustaceans like crabs and shrimp.

Southerners like their crayfish.

[AnArmyVeteran]

80. I've been saving bigs for the hard times ahead.

They have a long shelf life if you make cricket jerky. They are especially good with popcorn salt. Or you CSM sprinkle them as a topping on ice cream.

[Quantess]

84. Eating bugs/insects/spiders. Get used to it!

TOUGHEN UP!! YOU WILL LEARN TO LOVE THE TASTE OF BUGS!!! :hi:

Completely just kidding, of course.

[Capitalocracy]

86. I'll stick with vegetarianism.

Thanks.

[comrade snarky]

90. Nothing wrong with eating a bug

If you eat food, you've eaten a bug. The FDA has a measurement of the acceptable number of bug parts in flour.

I admit I'd have a hell of a time eating something with big crunchy legs but I'd love the chance to try a honey pot ant, they're supposed to be amazingly tasty. You get a burst of sweetness from the honey followed by a tang of formic acid.

http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/wml/naturalworld/bughouse/honeypotants.aspx

OK, maybe not something I'd eat in a bucket at the movies but that's cause they'd mostly get away.

[XemaSab]

91. And I had tom yum for dinner

with clams, shrimp, scallops, squid, and catfish.

If there had been crickets, I would have thrown them in too. :D

[proteus_lives]

93. I've had cooked cricket. Not bad.

Tasted like cooked shrimp.

[backscatter712]

94. Human digestive systems have evolved to eat bugs!

And we do eat a few (OK, not technically insects, but not far removed) such as shrimp, crab and lobster.

Granted, I'm not likely to eat crickets or grasshoppers anytime soon - something about that strong cultural aversion to eating insects.

But humans are perfectly capable of eating insects, and some people do eat them regularly. Our close relatives in the animal kingdom, the great apes, eat lots of bugs.

[earth mom]

96. I guess they think bugs might be more tasty than cat food.

Oy! What a choice! :puke:

[csziggy]

97. For the cultures that consider some insects and other bugs delicacies

I wonder how that started? I know that Bushmen and some other hunter gatherer groups eat larva and some insects as an addition to their proteins. But then I think of the bit I saw in a TV show the other week about people in South East Asia eating tarantulas.

It seems that this food habit got started during the reign of the Khmer Rouge when basic sources of food and especially protein were scarce. Out of desperation people began capturing the large spiders, and have now developed special stir fry recipes for them. You think boiling a lobster is disturbing, think of throwing a large basketful of live spiders in a wok and cooking them. :puke:

Even though food supplies are more reliable now, people had developed a taste for the spiders and there street vendors who specialize in them. The craze has depleted the supply of spiders in the local jungles and the spider hunters are having to go further afield to get enough to satisfy the demand.

[slampoet]

102. Waxworms taste a LOT like Pistachio nuts.

though the aren't crunchy.

I have eaten at "The Blue Elephant" in Providence, RI a restaurant that has insect dishes on the menu from time to time. They are great!

[slampoet]

103. Two kinds of people. Those that voluntarily eat bugs, and those that think they don't eat bugs

but do by accident all the time.



WE ALL HAVE EATEN BUGS.

So people are just too ignorant about nature to realize it.