California State University East Bay

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California State University East Bay

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California State University East Bay

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Little Critter Fritters

Westerners urged to try eating bugs

Imagine tucking into a plate of deep fried tarantulas.

Their multiple, now crusty, eyes stare at you, taunting you, as if to say “I wouldn’t hesitate to eat you if our positions were reversed.” Their thin, brown hairs stand up on end like spines on a cactus, and their menacing pincers look as though they could cut your gullet on its way down.

Most Westerners balk at this thought, but not everyone is mortified. In fact, some cultures enjoy eating spiders, with more than 80 countries worldwide consuming some 1,400 insect species, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Many people who hail from countries that are famine-stricken, or on the verge of economic collapse, began consuming insects as a way to fill bellies during food shortages. In some of the poorest countries, insects are the cheapest source of protein. For women and children living in squalid conditions, insect diets can adequately sustain them for little cost.

Often, the fondness and consumption for that which fed them during times of desperation became mainstays in the diet even after famines end.

Some insects, even when dried, contain twice the amount of protein of raw meat and fish, according to the FAO. Other insects, especially larva, are rich in fat, vitamins, and minerals such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, phosphorus and iron. The Malawian lake fly has six times more iron than the liver of an ox.

Insects also have some of the highest calorie content per unit area in all of the edible foods available. Some insects in Mexico have as high as 77.7 kilocalories for every 100 grams, compared to soybeans which have 46.6 kilocalories for every 100 grams.

Because of their multiple nutritional benefits, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations launched a campaign to promote insect consumption in countries with food insecurities.

The FAO is even encouraging Westerners to pick up the habit in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, stating that the animals that give us steaks, chops, drumsticks and mystery meats occupy two-thirds of the world’s farmlands and generate 20 percent of all the greenhouse gases driving global warming.

Just as the globe shifts its energy consumption away from natural gas and oil toward wind, solar, geothermal and tidal power, the United Nations has suggested that we also shift away from consuming quadrupeds and consider consuming creepy, crawly, critters.

For those feeling squeamish at what the future of food holds, take baby steps.

First, consider the fact that most Westerners unknowingly consume insects from processed foods all the time.

Second, try out some insects in fried or candied forms. Then, visit some of the few restaurants in the Bay Area that serve insects (not just the kind that happen to end up in your food because of a dirty kitchen).

Mezcal restaurant in downtown San Jose serves up a popular dish in Mexico—chapulines—fried grasshoppers. The grasshoppers are eaten as a crunchy and salty appetizer or snack.

For the more adventurous eater, try out the Bundaegi Bok Um at 99 Chicken in Santa Clara. The Korean soup features silkworm pupa whose chestnut-looking cocoons float like meatballs in the soup.

But just in case, you might want to have a large glass of soju next to you.

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