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Mar 1

I taste-tested a bug diet, the sustainable protein that could save the world – New York Post

Diet Comments Off on I taste-tested a bug diet, the sustainable protein that could save the world – New York Post

Its time to bug out. Literally.

Global warming and drastic climate change are wreaking havoc on our planet, thanks in part to a growing global population that relies on animals (especially in the developed world) for its protein.

Animal farming has unduly contributed to greenhouse gasses, deforestation in the Amazon and African rainforests and, according to the Guardian, farming uses up to 92% of our freshwater, with nearly one-third of that related to animal products.

And then theres the coronavirus, which experts think was spawned in a filthy wet market in Wuhan, China, that sold bats, birds, endangered pangolins and other animals that can carry and transmit diseases.

So, this week, during a trip to Mexico City, I decided to try out a bug-based diet.

Rocio Vazquez Landeta, the founder of Eat Like a Local a food tour company in Mexico City took me to the La Merced Market near the airport for some fresh fried insects.

Insects were a very important part of the pre-Hispanic diet, from mosquitoes eggs, ants larva, grasshoppers, worms, flying ants and more, Vazquez Landeta said. Aztecs included insects on their daily diet.

At a stall near the back of the massive maze-like market we had a buffet of cocopaches beetles, chinicuiles worms, chicatanas (flying ants), chapulinas grasshoppers, alacranes scorpions and 2-inch long cockroaches.

Paula Froelich

Paula Froelich

Paula Froelich

Paula Froelich

Paula Froelich

Paula Froelich

Paula Froelich

Paula Froelich

Paula Froelich

Paula Froelich

I have had grasshoppers and crickets before in Mexico City they serve them everywhere, even at the Four Seasons but everything else was new, and, frankly, a bit stomach-turning to look at. I am not alone in my aversion.

Oh, God, no! moaned a friend when I told her what I was doing a reaction echoed by friends on Facebook when I posted a pic of the bugs I was about to eat. Even the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization noted in a 2013 study the general publics common prejudice against eating insects.

But, as the U.N. also noted, the prejudice is not justified from a nutritional point of view.

And insects are a sustainable source of protein according to Vazquez Landeta, 100 grams of mosquito eggs have 54 grams of protein, 6 grams of fat, lots of iron, vitamin B and riboflavin.

The same amount of grasshopper contains 20 grams of protein and 6 grams of fat.

Bugs also have a much softer impact on the environment than, say, cows, sheep or pigs.

According to the U.N., the worldwide livestock industry accounts for over 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. By comparison, cricket production is 20 times more efficient as a protein source than cattle, and produces 80 times less methane.

Additionally, insects can thrive on organic waste, allowing farmers to cut back on growing the grain used in animal feed, which requires significant energy and water resources, Vazquez Landeta said. The rearing of insects requires dramatically less food than raising beef. For example, according to the FAO, insects consume just 2 pounds of feed to produce 1 pound of meat, while cattle require 8 pounds of feed to generate 1 pound of beef. Thats why the U.N. called forswapping burgers for bugs.

Insect farming makes economic sense as well.

As insects are cold-blooded, they require less energy to stay warm. This helps explain why they are more efficient at converting feed into protein, Vazquez Landeta said. Consider that crickets need four times less feed than sheep, 12 times less than cattle, and half as much as broiler chickens and pigs to produce the same amount of protein.

So, I tested what many think is the future of food. And it was not bad.

Paula Froelich

Paula Froelich

Paula Froelich

Paula Froelich

Once I got over my initial squeamishness (having been stung by a scorpion before, I am not a fan and who is into worms?), it was a fascinating experiment. The chicatanas were better than corn nuts, the crickets were, as always, delicious, and the cocopaches beetles were innocuous.

Oddly, my favorite were the chinicuiles worms, which were surprisingly flavorful and had the consistency of airy French fries. The scorpions tasted like bad beer (the smaller ones were actually fine, the larger ones just greasy), and then Vazquez Landeta proffered up a 2-inch long cockroach.

The reticulated bug looked like a Madagascar hissing cockroach, which are high in protein, calcium and fiber, and are said to taste like greasy fried chicken (doesnt everything?) but they are just repulsive to look at. It was also the only bug I gagged at.

But a 2-year-old nearby wanted to split it with me, and I wasnt about to be shown up by a toddler, so I split it with her. Thankfully she picked the fatter abdomen portion, leaving me the head and legs. I popped it in my mouth as my stomach clenched it was tasteless, with a hard, pumpkin seed-like shell that refuses to disintegrate under mastication. I finally swallowed it with the help of a nearby vodka shot.

The verdict: Bugs are fine. Tasty even and I could see serving up a bowl of flying ants, crickets, grasshoppers or worms at a Super Bowl party.

But the cockroaches are a hard pass.

Read more from the original source:
I taste-tested a bug diet, the sustainable protein that could save the world - New York Post

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