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posted by cmn32480 on Saturday September 05 2015, @02:48AM   Printer-friendly
from the chocolate-covered-grasshoppers dept.

A Los Angeles Times article reports on aspects of the current state of insects as food in the US. Apparently the trend is increasing. The article focuses on a company that supplies mealworms and superworms.

Mealworms and superworms are rich in protein, amino acids and vitamins and minerals like potassium and iron. Plus, they have less fat and cholesterol than beef.

These and other insects are also considered an environmentally friendly source of protein because they can be raised on a fraction of the land and water required for traditional livestock, like cattle.

In case you are wondering:

Their flavor, when toasted, is often described as being nutty and crispy, akin to roasted pecans or fried pork rinds.

Mealworms and superworms are "two of the roughly 1,900 insect species that are good for people to eat, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization." Already about 2 billion people have insects as a staple in their diets (personal observation: a true "paleo-diet" would require them).

What are the environmental benefits?

Compared with cattle, cultivated insects emit far fewer greenhouse gases, require less water, can be grown in a smaller space, can eat foods like vegetable scraps that would otherwise be considered waste, and can grow more protein from less feed, according to the report. For instance, growing mealworms for food requires about one-tenth as much space as raising an equivalent amount of beef protein, the report says.

The benefits may not be as clear when compared with chicken:

A study published in 2015 in the scientific journal PLOS One found that crickets raised on poultry feed required nearly as much food as conventionally raised chickens per unit of protein produced. If crickets aren't able to convert feed into protein more efficiently than chickens, they really aren't that much more sustainable, the researchers concluded.

For those interested, you may want to read the report produced by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.


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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Saturday September 05 2015, @04:07AM

    by MichaelDavidCrawford (2339) Subscriber Badge <mdcrawford@gmail.com> on Saturday September 05 2015, @04:07AM (#232507) Homepage Journal

    If you don't already know what a Battery Cage is then DON'T FIND OUT.

    Just eat eggs from free-range chickens.

    Yes they cost a dollar or two more per dozen.

    That dollar or two goes towards the elimination of Battery Cages from the Earth.

    --
    Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by aristarchus on Saturday September 05 2015, @06:29AM

    by aristarchus (2645) on Saturday September 05 2015, @06:29AM (#232532) Journal

    If you don't already know what a Battery Cage is then DON'T FIND OUT.

    This is such good advice about so many things. If you don't know, then don't find out. Word to the wise. Say no more, say no more! Either that of MDC is once again engaging in the fine art of rhetoric! Yeah, really, don't find out. Did I mention that I explicitly told you to not find out? Get you fingers away from the Google! No good will come of this! Don't do it! . . . . Until, of course, as instructed by reverse psychology (really the only kind MDC has, admittedly) you find out. And then you will pay the dollar more for free range eggs, for the rest of your life, and beyond. It's kind of like "Jupiter Rising", except with MDC instead of Mila Kunis.

    • (Score: 2) by kurenai.tsubasa on Saturday September 05 2015, @03:03PM

      by kurenai.tsubasa (5227) on Saturday September 05 2015, @03:03PM (#232631) Journal

      It's kind of like "Jupiter Rising", except with MDC instead of Mila Kunis.

      Not that I don't like her (very good [bad?] wicked witch of the west), but MDC might have added some substance to Jupiter Rising!

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by darkfeline on Saturday September 05 2015, @11:01PM

    by darkfeline (1030) on Saturday September 05 2015, @11:01PM (#232781) Homepage

    Speaking of eggs, I would be okay with doing away with all other forms of meat livestock and eating only eggs for protein (perhaps supplemented with the occasional fish for omega-3).

    --
    Join the SDF Public Access UNIX System today!
  • (Score: 2) by albert on Sunday September 06 2015, @02:50AM

    by albert (276) on Sunday September 06 2015, @02:50AM (#232856)

    Dude, it's a chicken.