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Bug Burgers? Crickets Replace Cows in the Future of Sustainable Food – WDET

Posted: February 22, 2020 at 12:42 pm

Does the thought of eating bugs make you cringe?Youre not alone,especially in further north areas likeMichigan.

We have these harsh winters, [so] insects arent available, says Julie Lesnik, an anthropology professor at Wayne State University who specializes in the evolution of the human diet and using insects as a food source. Its not a part of a lot of traditional diets in higherlatitudes.

This isnt just something that primitivepeople eat, this is a food resource that has been smartly used for millions of years and in a lot of ways we are silly for ignoring it. - Julie Lesnik,professor

But Lesnik makes the argument that eating and farming insects may make sense for a growing population where our food system leads to growing inequity, hunger and obesity.Bugs are also an environmentally-friendly food source and rich in nutrients, and a culture built around it with recipes and even a business in metroDetroit.

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Still not ready to join the ranks of the entovegans,individuals who only eat insects and plant-based foods? WDETs Anna Sysling spoke to Lesnik on the colonialist history of our bug aversion, the case for an insect-based farming systemand how you can start dabbling in thisdiet.

Otherwise, how did you get here? 101.9 WDET wants to connect with metro Detroiters who are concerned about climate change and want to take action. Sign-up to be contacted by our editorial team to learnmore.

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Lesnick says the problem with our current food system is wastedresources.

Its about how much resources we put into cows versus what we get back out of them, saysLesnik.

Lesnik says according to estimates, it takes about 22,000 liters of water to cultivate a kilogram of edible mass for cows, which is a little over twopounds, and it takes a couple hundred liters of water to produce that same kilogram of edible mass forcrickets.

Soreally fresh water is one of the things we should be thinking about as a very precious resource and so adjusting how we farm our animals is an important part, shesays.

Insects are something we have been eating for millions of years, but fallen off here in the U.S.

Lesnick points to a conflicted history of colonialism as one reason why, as evidenced by correspondence and letters shes uncovered through herresearch.

By eating the whole insect youre actually getting a greater variation of nutrients than if you were just eatingmeat.

In a journal entry from [Christopher]Columbusscompanion on his second voyage, they highly scorn the use of insects as food, Lesnik explains.As Europeans,their only association with insects and food might be maggots with rottenmeat.

Lesnik says that Columbus and other colonizers uses indigenous peoples diets as one way to dehumanize and eventually enslave them to work on sugarplantations.

But she notes that right now there is a lot of excitement about farming crickets andmealworms.

She adds that both of these insects are great alternatives when thinking about different options forfood.

Lesnik says one thing about eating meat in our diet is that its a really easy way to get all the complete proteins that weneed.

That means you can easily getall the essential amino acids from one place, explains Lesnik, whereas if youre a vegetarian you need to be very smart about pairing all your foodsources.

By having strong disgust reactions at the idea of eating insects we are eliminating that asa possible resource for these futuregenerations.

She says insects offer that same animal protein, so they have that same benefit. But unlike eating the flesh of a cow or a pig, we are eating the entire insect so even if you are eating it powdered we get iron, dietary fiber. By eating the whole insect youre actually getting a greater variation of nutrients than if you were just eatingmeat.

Insects also offera unique ethical alternative for vegetarians, saysLesnik.

Cows are roaming animals and we put them into these small areas, but crickets naturally live in dark and cramped spaces, so to farm them in these containers for food is not far removed from their natural habitat, Lesnik continues.They are not nearly as stressed as other animals that wefarm.

Even with these facts, Lesnik says you may run into opposition among theuninitiated.

They might have a real honest disgust reaction, she says, complete with a churning stomach and gag reflex. Its hard to tell that person that their reaction iscultural.

She says that the disgust reaction is developed when we areyoung.

Think of a two-year-old, they put anything in their mouth and it requires the adults around them to say oh no dont put that in your mouth, and she says that our learned reactionhelps form the pathways in our brains as toddlersas to what is disgusting. So by having strong disgust reactions at the idea of eating insects we are eliminating that asa possible resource for these futuregenerations.

She says ultimately we need to change the narrative around bugs andinsects.

This isnt just something that primitivepeople eat, this is a food resource that has been smartly used for millions of years and in a lot of ways we are silly for ignoringit.

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Bug Burgers? Crickets Replace Cows in the Future of Sustainable Food - WDET


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