What would you like to eat today? Ants, spiders, cockroaches, a combination of all? In many countries around the world eat insects on a regular basis but for the more Westernized the mere mention of this practice still generates thousands of gestures of rejection, faces disgusting and a lot of scruples. Now United Nations is seriously considering recommending eating insect world on issues related to the interest of the world, beyond the purely gastronomic criteria.
production and consumption of meat requires so much land and produce as many greenhouse gases that we must seek alternatives, such as c omer bugs.
And it is estimated that over 80% of the world's population includes some type of insect diet.
Professor Arnold van Huis, entomologist Wageningen University in the Netherlands and consultant to the Organization for Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations (FAO by its acronym in English) said that the environmental benefits of eating insects are numerous.
"Insects are able to convert food into protein much more effectively than other animals, because they are cold blooded animals and do not need to warm your body."
"Producing a kilo of beef requires 13 kilos of grass or green material. But a kilo of meat a cricket, a beetle or a grasshopper just needs 1.5 to 2 kilos of feed and produces a fraction dioxide emissions carbon, "he explains.
Crisis meat
All this must be put in the context of the beef crisis in which we live, or live in the world soon.
population is believed to will world of 6,000 to 9,000 million people by 2050. And it's a proven fact that more development is consuming more meat.
"Applying the math is simple. On average, in the West, it consumes 120 kilos of meat per person. In China the average is 80 kilos per head, but we are catching up rapidly, "says the researcher.
"If five billion people eat 100 kilos of beef or pork, we need to grow an average of 6.5 billion kilos of forage for years."
"Not enough space or nutrients in the earth to support it and that means that the poor simply die of hunger."
"The good thing about insects is not only required less food to be brought up, but you need not eat as much to survive.
are an extraordinary source ri to protein and vitamins "he adds. in Thailand ndia and to breeding farms there are 15,000 domestic cricket for human consumption.
In southeastern Africa, the industry mopane caterpillars is valued at U.S. $ 85 million and is an important protein source for indigenous people. Menu
insect
So why not cons umirlos?
Apparently, according to Professor van Huis all the stops for the insects to become part of Western menus are purely cultural: they are all prejudices.
One of the main prejudices argue is that insects are not palatable, "but if cooked properly can be delicious," says the researcher.
"There is no reason not to eat, in terms of taste or nutritionally, there is no difference between a meal of insects, birds or mammals." "
is cultural, when he spoke to many people in Africa say that when the missionaries arrived they were told not to eat insects because it was barbaric and primitive. And when people move to town and takes a leave western behavior this practice. Is actually determined by culture, "he concludes.
not worry. To win the Western apprehensive and reactions of disgust at the thought of insects a delicacy industry is already looking to extract the meat proteins bugs and introduce products and chord textures to suit the Western palate.
For a recipe for Chocolate Covered Crickets here
Source: BBC
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