With increasing evidence highlighting the significant impact animal farming has on our planet including excessive use of land and water, is it time to give more serious consideration to adding insects to our diet?
'Insects are a staple food in parts of the developing world, but two businessmen from the unlikely location of Iceland are proposing to use them to make energy bars.
Bui Adalsteinsson and Stefan Thoroddsen say on their website they got the idea from a UN report suggesting the western world could benefit from using this abundant source of protein, and formed a company to make bars with ground-up bugs. They got funding from the Startup Reykjavik programme earlier this year, and have just announced the second prototype of their Crowbar on Twitter.
They tell the Nutiminn news site the insect 'superfood' breaks down into amino acids that the body needs, and is also rich in calcium and vitamins. Crowbars 'provide a realistic, sustainable choice of excellent nutrition in your pocket, whether you're taking a two-minute break from a challenging hike or need a boost between work meetings,' the pair insist.
Stefan admits not everyone is likely to enjoy the flavour of insects, but told the IceNews site that Crowbars have the answer - 'mixed with other ingredients like almonds, coconut and cacao, you can't really taste a lot of the crickets', which he describes as mild and nutty. They have presented their prototype bars at food tasting events in the capital Reykjavik, and hope to go into full production later this year.' http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-29033495
'In addition to being high in protein, many edible insect species are also high in essential fatty acids, particularly omega-3s. Aquatic insects tend to have higher levels of essential fatty acids, though all edible insects contain them to some extent. Many insects, such as crickets, grasshoppers, ants, and certain caterpillars, are exceedingly high in calcium. Soldier fly larvae, used for processing compost, are off the charts in this nutrient.
As you may be aware, the nutrient B12 can only be found in animal sources. Crickets and cockroach nymphs are both impressively good sources for B12. If vegans could accept the idea of eating insects, they could potentially manage their B12 intake just by popping a few crickets a couple times a week.' http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2014/04/the_benefits_of_eating_bugs_they_re_a_sustainable_efficient_and_tasty_source.html
If insects offer such a rich source of so many essentail nutrients and there is also evidence that meat consumption poses health risks ( for instance see here: http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/mar/04/animal-protein-diets-smoking-meat-eggs-dairy ) should eating insects be taken more seriously?
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