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posted by martyb on Thursday May 16 2019, @04:53AM   Printer-friendly
from the how-abot-a-nice-pupae-puree? dept.

Phys.org:

Consuming insects is already an everyday practice for two billion people worldwide, largely in the global east and south. Rearing them uses less land, energy, water and produces fewer greenhouse gases than traditional meats like chicken and beef, and more of their body is digestible (80-100 percent, compared to only 40 percent for beef).

They are also better for us: they are rich in protein, fat, and energy and can be a significant source of vitamins and minerals. But the Western world has still not embraced this wonder food.

Researchers think they know why: the 'disgust' factor. Insects are gross. The more interesting question is: given the enormous benefits, how can we convince people to get over the grossness?

The article argues that eating sushi and lobster was once considered disgusting, too.


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  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 16 2019, @06:09AM (8 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 16 2019, @06:09AM (#844148)

    I grew up on the coast with a diet mostly consisting of a shrimp, crab, lobster and whatever the hell else they put in ceviche. I love em, my kids love em too! I try to make sure we get some sort of insect in our diet at least 3 times a week.

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  • (Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 16 2019, @08:00AM (4 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 16 2019, @08:00AM (#844178)

    Shrimp, crab, and lobster aren't insects.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 16 2019, @10:06AM (3 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 16 2019, @10:06AM (#844203)

      Did the nomenclature change? I could have swore they were all arthropods. Quick someone update wikipedia! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthropod [wikipedia.org]

      • (Score: 4, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 16 2019, @10:17AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 16 2019, @10:17AM (#844205)

        ... all insects are arthropods, not all arthropods are insects.
        """Arthropods form the phylum Euarthropoda,[1][3] which includes insects, arachnids, myriapods, and crustaceans."""

        So if you are eating shrimp you are eating arthropods, but not insects.
        I'm sure there are lots of edible insects but shrimp aren't insects.

      • (Score: 3, Interesting) by sshelton76 on Thursday May 16 2019, @10:40AM (1 child)

        by sshelton76 (7978) on Thursday May 16 2019, @10:40AM (#844209)

        Nice wikipedia article. Although insectum comprise a subset of arthropoda. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insect [wikipedia.org]
        I do get your meaning. Bugs, insects, anything in arthropoda is basically giving the same "ew gross reaction" and therefore must be the same thing. But a scorpion no matter how large is no substitute for a good lobster. Despite similar body plans they are not close kin. They are about as closely related as you are to a dolphin. http://arachnoboards.com/threads/how-closely-releted-are-scorpions-and-lobsters.89261/ [arachnoboards.com]

        On another note, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Japanese_spider_crab.jpg [wikipedia.org] (Warning: NSFBBT (Not Safe Before Bed Time))
        I have had Thanksgiving turkeys that were smaller than some crabs.
        https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_spider_crab [wikipedia.org]

        It would be nice to explore the idea of industrial farming of crustaceans especially those large enough to be a meal in and of themselves.

        • (Score: 3, Interesting) by deimtee on Thursday May 16 2019, @11:04AM

          by deimtee (3272) on Thursday May 16 2019, @11:04AM (#844216) Journal

          They farm yabbies* in Australia, but it is basically a niche market for up-market restaurants. Mostly we just catch and eat the wild ones.
          The real problem with farming lobsters/crayfish is how slowly they grow. A crayfish weighing over a kilo or two might be 50 years old.

          * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_yabby [wikipedia.org] (There's a fair bit of 'almost correct' info there, but if I bothered to fix it some wikihole would just revert it.)

          --
          If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
  • (Score: 2) by Magic Oddball on Thursday May 16 2019, @10:43AM (1 child)

    by Magic Oddball (3847) on Thursday May 16 2019, @10:43AM (#844211) Journal

    All of those are crustaceans, which is one type of arthropod; insects, arachnids, and myriapods are other types. So a lobster is no more an "insect" than a tarantula is.

    • (Score: 4, Insightful) by JoeMerchant on Thursday May 16 2019, @11:58AM

      by JoeMerchant (3937) on Thursday May 16 2019, @11:58AM (#844238)

      My problem with shrimp - all the way through grasshoppers - is cleaning out the digestive tract before consuming them.

      Shrimp aren't too impossible to de-vein, most terrestrial bugs are much harder.

      It is probably healthy to eat your food's poop, I'm just not into it myself.

      --
      🌻🌻 [google.com]
  • (Score: 2) by Sourcery42 on Thursday May 16 2019, @12:53PM

    by Sourcery42 (6400) on Thursday May 16 2019, @12:53PM (#844249)

    Yeah, they're basically water insects, but they're big enough to remove the gut like we do with our terrestrial meat sources. While I haven't tried to de-vein a mealworm or a cricket, it seems like it would be substantially more difficult, and that's a big part of the yuck factor for moving to the land based variety of insects.