6 ms·
Why Don’t More Humans Eat Bugs? (2018)
- remarkEon 8y agoBecause they’re gross looking and honestly don’t taste that great (speaking from experience). It’s not rocket science.
- sametmax 8y agoAnd this rejection probably comes from the fact their are not safe to eat as is. If you take any bug and you eat it without cooking it, you risk diseases or venom, and you'll get a hard crunch shell. So batch preparing those little things requires deep fry, which is a quite recent addition to our life. Besides, it was hard to safely gather or raise enough of them to nourish a village. So we did eat some of them anecdoticly, but that's all.
- koliber 8y agoThe same is true for a whole freshly slaughtered chicken, sans venom.
- sametmax 8y agoIt's much easier to figure out that one chicken is sick that one in 100 tiny bugs with an exoskeleton. And bugs are more resistant than chickens, and can hold many dangerous agents that are dangerous for us without being sick themself.
- jacobolus 8y agoThere are many parts of the world where bugs are considered to appear and taste palatable. Some are delicacies. The idea that all bugs are gross is largely due to unfamiliarity. Most unfamiliar foods are considered gross the first time someone tries them (as anyone with kids can attest). With that said, some of the large ants commonly eaten in southern Mexico are extremely bitter. Not my favorite for sure.
- remarkEon 8y ago>The idea that all bugs are gross is largely due to unfamiliarity. I'm really, really skeptical of this idea. One of the most interesting phobias is Trypophobia, fear of irregular patterns or of small holes/bumps. It's not really a fear, ... but more of an evolutionary response. Humans are good at recognizing patterns and irregular holes/bumps tend to mean disease or "something gross and dangerous probably laid eggs here". Those things tend to be insects, or bugs, or whatever. As an aside, eating bugs has become all the rage with some of my more culturally eccentric friends. I don't really know why, since they can definitely afford actual food and seem to engage in this as some kind of signal of cultural experience or "competency". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trypophobia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trypophobia
- jacobolus 8y agoAnts, termites, wasps, bees, cicadas, grasshoppers and crickets, beetles, beetle larvae, moth larvae, caterpillars, ... have a very wide range of appearances, textures, flavors, habitats, diets, .... I don’t see why Trypophobia would have anything to do with a fear of eating insects rather than, say, honey, pomegranates, sunflower seeds, or strawberries. There are many things commonly eaten in e.g. the USA which are considered disgusting by some people in other countries. Fermented cabbage, non-dairy “cheese” product, twinkies, weird stuff made out of jello or marshmallows, deep-fried butter, wonder bread, raw kale, ... There are also many foods eaten in other parts of the world which don’t look weird and have nothing to do with bugs but most e.g. Americans refuse to eat for no apparent reason.
- senectus1 8y agoI've had deep fried crickets and deep fried mealy worms. I think its was the preparation that put me off them. The crickets tasted/felt like semi crunchy shells. Not very enjoyable to eat and the after effect was lumps of ground up shell in my teeth.. meh The mealy worms were not quite as bad as the crickets but waaaay overpowered by the herbs and stuff mixed in with them. I'm also very much anti deep fried anything so I'd really like to try them prepped another way.
- klodolph 8y agoA comment was deleted, which said, > For the same reason we don’t eat grass. We get them preprocessed by other animals and then eat them instead because they are tastier. The reason we don’t eat grass is because our digestive system can’t really absorb much energy from it. Eating grass requires a very specialized digestive system, and we just don’t have those specializations. The reason grass isn’t tasty is because our taste has coevolved with our digestive system so things we can digest are tasty. Bugs are tasty. We can get nutrients from bugs. Do you like breadcrumbs on your macaroni and cheese? Try ants instead. They give the same crunch and a similar texture, but a bit of a different flavor. I think it’s a nice contrast to the load of soft carbs and fat in macaroni and cheese. That said, I’m still going to use breadcrumbs. I’m just not that adventurous. Bugs are treated as novelties, not food, in mainstream US culture. If they’re not part of your tradition, you end up making a big deal out of them.
- kokokokoko 8y agoI encourage you to research what percentage of bugs are actually edible and a reasonable source of protein in northern climates. And then research the eating habits in regions where the percentage of edible and protein rich insects is significantly higher. Within there, I imagine you will find an answer.
- sametmax 8y agoAlso, insect are hard to find in the winter, and much harder to raise at a reasonable quantity than cows and chickens. And if your 1000 sheeps escape in the wild, you have a chance to get some back, and you will be able to protect you fields against them. It's practical. Plusyou don't have to care about venom when cookinh lamb.
- Double_a_92 8y ago> and much harder to raise at a reasonable quantity than cows and chickens. Doubt that. Livestock eats up much more energy than its meat gives back (i.e. you would have to feed 7kg of soy protein to get 1kg of meat protein). With insects such as Mealworms that's much easier. They basically eat anything and they turn it almost 1:1 into valuable protein. Also you can raise them pretty much everywhere, even in crammed indoor farms without it being cruel. It's sounded more like you were imagining wild crickets being collected from grass fields or something... which is obviously not a good solution.
- 0x8BADF00D 8y agoIt’s not so strange to eat bugs. Aren’t crustaceans, particularly crawfish and the like, the bugs of the sea? They certainly look and behave like insects, scavenging the ocean floor.
- justinator 8y agoHow many crustaceans can you think of that have wings and fly? How many bugs do you know that live in the ocean? I'd say they're fairly different, unless you want to also support the claim that we should all eat whale, since they're related to deer.
- steve_adams_86 8y agoIf you've ever handled bugs like scorpions or larger arthropods, they're remarkably similar to crawfish or crabs. They're virtually the same thing. There are aquatic and terrestrial arthropods which are literally the same type of 'bugs'. Whales and deer are not alike in the same way.
- justinator 8y agoIf you've ever handled bugs like scorpions or larger arthropods, they're remarkably similar to crawfish or crabs. They're virtually the same thing. How many millions of years ago would we need to go back, to find the common ancestor? Whales and deer are not alike in the same way. Same question, I suppose. A longer span of time, or shorter?
- dagw 8y agowe should all eat whale, since they're related to deer. The main reason we don't eat whale is that they're going extinct in the wild and are impossible to farm (neither which are true about insects). Before we realized that large scale whaling was a bad idea we ate a lot more whale.
- justinator 8y agoIn Western Civ., was whale eaten, or was whale used primarily for it's whale oil? In places where it is/was eaten does that happen sustainably? (Japan excluded...)
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- maxencecornet 8y agoI've heard that I'm unknowingly "eating" bugs everyday by drinking ground coffee I don't know if it's a fact or a myth
- ygra 8y agoHaven't seen many bugs in our coffee machine yet and none of the beans looked like bugs either. Perhaps when buying ground coffee instead of beans. But then, all industrially processed food items contain parts that you wouldn't intentionally put in, simply because it's hard to prevent foreign objects completely at scale. Heck, I guess apple juice might have quite a few bugs in it, too.
- AngryData 8y agoThere are almost no crops that are totally free from bugs, coffee has extra stages of sitting and drying too which would do it no favors either. It's just not enough to worry about, just like the shit you inhale when you smell a fart.
- smb06 8y agoI was very apprehensive when i first tried roasted crickets. By the time i was on my second spoonful, i was wondering the same. Why haven't i had more of them? It's the mental block that we've been conditioned with. That bugs are "disgusting" things.
- dotancohen 8y agoI had a similar experience. I've had fried crickets, they are delicious. It is like eating a tasty crispy french fry.
- adrianN 8y agoI'd like to eat insects, but they're a lot more expensive than chicken.
- stevenwoo 8y agoOne thing about some insects - I used to have fish in an aquarium that were large enough to eat crickets in one bite, and every single insect I caught in our home and put in the water also had parasitic worms that tried to escape the host insect immediately when it realized the insect was in water - these parasitic worms seem to take up most of the insects abdomen. This might not be a problem in non tropical parts of the world, but it's like a horror movie in miniature. http://theconversation.com/the-parasite-a-crickets-nightmares-are-made-of-19364 http://theconversation.com/the-parasite-a-crickets-nightmare...
- coconut_crab 8y agoFarmed insects like silkworm should be safe to eat, I often stir fry them as a snack with beer. Quite tasty!
- DonHopkins 8y agoAre farmed tapeworms safe to eat?
- coconut_crab 8y agoNematode aren't insect though :)
- the_70x 8y agoyou need to deep fry the insects and problem solved, then add guacamole and that's it
- ASalazarMX 8y agoJesus Christ. I've eaten crickets for the novelty, but now I won't until I'm absolutely sure they're not holding those huge parasitic worms.
- sametmax 8y agoFried spiced bugs are tasty. Raw bugs not so much. I liked fried scorpio. Raw cricket, taste like crap. I guess if you take grass, deep fry it and put cummin on it, it tastes ok too. You can eat a cucumber, a carrot, an apple or a steak raw. Even things you need to cook, such as wheet or potatoes, taste alrigh by just being boiled in water.
- bad_user 8y agoYou can eat potatoes raw too. The human digestive system evolved in the Paleolithic to easily digest starchy roots like the potato. Besides meat, starchy roots were a favorite. Wheat btw is a Neolithic phenomenon. And there is some proof that grains are toxic and that some of those toxins aren’t annihilated with cooking. Grains being toxic is an evolutionary trait meant to discourage mammals and insects from eating the seeds. Fruits are meant to be eaten, but not seeds. Could insects be toxic too? The dose makes the poison, plus it takes decades for us to observe the effects. Also deep fried food is unhealthy, no matter the food. Vegetable oils and high temperatures don’t mix well.
- sametmax 8y agoSomehow i don't think a restaurant selling raw potatoes will suceed much though :)
- bad_user 8y agoI meant that you can eat potatoes raw and it won’t make you sick and it won’t give you nausea.
- Retra 8y agoIf it takes decades to notice the effects of a toxin, it's not very potent and there certainly isn't going to be much of an evolutionary drive against it.
- klodolph 8y ago> Fried spiced bugs are tasty. Raw bugs not so much. I liked fried scorpio. Raw cricket, taste like crap. Depends on the bug. Different bugs have different flavors. It depends on their diet, too, like many animals. There are lots of ways to prepare them. Some of them are bland, others are very flavorful. I don’t see how this is any different from other foods. As a category, bugs are flavorful and interesting, but again, it depends on the bug and its diet. > I guess if you take grass, deep fry it and put cummin on it, it tastes ok too. No. You’re just tasting the fry oil and the spices. > Even things you need to cook, such as wheet or potatoes, taste alrigh by just being boiled in water. I think bugs taste better than potatoes or wheat boiled in water.
- kortilla 8y agoWe do all the time. Ever had lobster?
- sametmax 8y agoShell fishes have marinated in a tasty iodine and mineral packed salted water, that also have the benefit of preserving it from a lot of infectuous agents.
- Alex3917 8y agoIs there a good field guide to edible insects of New England, or does one just need to join an entymology club? I look into this every couple years and I have yet to find anything good.
- FooHentai 8y agoI think this clip sums it up pretty well. Albeit, they're talking about living in tiny houses. But it's the same general idea. Joey's commentary is on point, IMO. https://youtu.be/yxXoRtRr3WE?t=65 https://youtu.be/yxXoRtRr3WE?t=65 Also happens to be hilarious, but I don't disagree with the point he's making. TL;DR Most people don't live like that because more desirable choices are available, and they're prepared to spend more to achieve that.
- savrajsingh 8y agoCricket flour tastes, like, really bad.
- skc 8y agoIt's a cultural thing. When I was very young growing up in Zambia, we used to eat those flying termites that appear everywhere after the rains, as well as a certain type of caterpillar. And I remember them being delicious. Then we flew off to the US for about 6 years. That was enough time for me to completely lose the taste for them on a very visceral level.
- DonHopkins 8y agoI was eating out with an "ideologically motivated" vegetarian friend of mine, who doesn't eat meat because it's "ethically wrong", and he ordered crabs. I challenged him (jokingly, but ready to argue my point on aesthetic grounds): "Crabs are just giant bugs, and you're a vegetarian, so why do you eat bugs?" He replied "I eat bugs because they're the enemy!"
- yesenadam 8y agoHe sounds like a fan of Starship Troopers (that or the Gemcraft games) - if you haven't seen it, it's a great movie.
- SideburnsOfDoom 8y ago> vegetarian friend of mine ... he ordered crabs Not a vegetarian.
- ralusek 8y agoThat is literally the entire point of the whole comment that they made you pedantic ding dong.
- newcombinator 8y agobecause they're fucking bugs. we eat animals here in america, we're high up on the food chain.
- hyperion2010 8y agoMy best case imagination of the future is that we get all our dietary protein from buffalo worms. Insects are some of the most efficient systems for converting plant mater in to human dietary protein, the fact that humans have a disgust response against them is one of the saddest facts impacting the future of our planet.
- jayalpha 8y agoYou can get every kind of bug on some markets in China. They taste disgusting. In Korea you can get silk worms in cans. They taste neutral. If prepared fresh on the street the taste is hardly bearable for any Westerner. You now buy an insect burger in Germnany https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/22/bug-appetite-german-supermarket-sells-burgers-made-from-worms https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/22/bug-appetite-g...
- expertentipp 8y agoEating insects and bugs? Oh gosh, another wave of brainlessness is arriving.
- dkdbejwi383 8y agoIf access to meat is the problem, why not just go vegan?
- zdk 8y agoNo idea why people don't eat more but I like eating deep fried insects e.g. rice grasshopper, silkworm etc. the taste is just as awesome as mainstream the deep fried chicken or french fried sort of things that we have been eating since we was child :) also, where I live they even sell insects as snack packaged food (Exactly like potato chips packaging) in supermarket and minimart these days. I don't mean I eat them as my primary source of protein but rather just eating it as a snack during watching movie at home instead of popcorn.
- newcombinator 8y agoso you're the weird kid that eats bugs
- newcombinator 8y agolet the chickens eat the bugs you weirdos. next you're going to recommend drinking human milk.
- lozf 8y agoMilk is for infants anyway, whichever species.
- AngryData 8y agoMy milk adapted genes disagree. If I wasn't suppose to eat it my ancestors wouldn't have adapted/evolved the ability to eat an unlimited amount of dairy without a problem.
- thedaemon 8y agoMy lactose intolerance disagrees.
- gnulinux 8y agoGood mutations can be random. Being able to drink milk doesn't have any harmful effects, so it stays. Most of humans are lactose intolerant. 99% of mammals are lactose intolerant. But all mammal infants drink milk. Drinking milk might be beneficial, but it's more likely a random mutation that wasn't selected against since it had no harm and gave a little more calory source to humans.
- ohiovr 8y agoI think there are recommendations on the maximum amount of bugs that can fall into a can of green beans or a bag of potato chips. So per year I've eaten a certain amount of bugs without knowing. Ignorance is probably biss.
- tropo 8y agoWe don't eat bugs because nobody has yet developed a machine that can affordably extract the meat. We don't eat cattle whole. When we make burgers, we leave out the skin and poop and horns and teeth. Bugs aren't any different.
- Retra 8y agoIf you were 1000x the size of a cow, you probably could (and would) eat it whole, as your teeth would mash through bone and skin without a problem.
- tropo 8y agoI could, but I wouldn't, because those parts taste bad. The poop is particularly awful.
- beatgammit 8y agoThe are a lot of things that people eat whole, such as sardines, anchovies, and other small fish. Some cultures even use bile as a flavoring (see Papaitan from the Philippines), and others eat bugs (crickets and grasshoppers are very popular).
- tropo 8y agoIn the USA we don't do that. Our sardines and anchovies have the head and guts removed, and probably the tail. We do sometimes eat skin and bones. The same goes for canned salmon and herring. We also peel, decapitate, and gut our shrimp. This is probably a better comparison because the exoskeleton is similar.
- Mikeb85 8y agoIt's not about being squeamish. It's about having better options. My ancestors (up to a generation ago) lived in a place that was a frozen wasteland for half the year (so no bugs for all that time) and basically subsisted off grains, cabbage in various stages of decomposition and products of animals that could actually survive long enough to be useful. As efficient as it seems today to be able to farm crickets, for farmers a few generations ago it would have been much easier to simply keep a few cows, pigs, and plant things than waste time trying to catch crickets and grasshoppers who can't even survive the winter. There's a reason the cultures who do eat bugs do so opportunistically and don't waste a ton of resources on it.