Why Not Eat Insects?

Just over a year ago I posted about the benefits of eating insects and the moral problem of letting our own disgust result in actual negative consequences for world hunger, agricultural policy and the environment. How over the moon I was then at this recent Marcel Dicke TED talk entitled Why Not Eat Insects? To start with, here’s the video:

Video Link

For the impatient among us, here are the 4 reasons to eat and farm insects Dicke mentioned (many of the comments are my own):

1. Lower risk of disease: because we are closer to mammals (especially pigs), their diseases can easily jump to humans. And do — not just with swine flu but as one of the most central events of history, see Guns Germs and Steel. Insect diseases are thereby much less likely to affect people.
2. Efficiency of feed: 10kg of feed are used to raise 1kg of beef. From the same 10kg you can get 5kg of chicken or 9kg of insect meat. This is a huge improvement especially given what a catastrophe livestock are (according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN, 30% of the earth’s entire land surface is used for livestock). Most of the grain grown in the world is used for cattle, which contributes significantly to food insecurity — a more mass market in insects should alleviate this.
3. Less waste: if only 1kg of feed is converted to beef, the other 9kg must be turned into something. And they are: into waste. The livestock sector accounts for 9% of total human CO2 emissions. With insects the waste will be minimal.
4. Great nutritionally: a kilo of locusts has the same calories as 10 hot dogs.

Ultimately I think insects might make one of the major differences between a world with food security and a world where we continue to have 1B malnourished people. Perhaps next year I’ll actually contribute to this, as education and culture are the two main barriers to this becoming a bigger industry. If people wanted insects at the same level they want beef, the world’s land use and economy would look very different now. So the fight will be in normalisation — expect some delicious insect recipes for the future. Until then, I at least urge those with an aversion to consider the possibility of insects making up a percentage of your future diet. Chances are it’ll happen whether you like it or not — over the next decades necessity may rule. A smooth transition is important though.