World hunger issues prompt GJ man to try monthlong diet of insects

Jeremy Connor sprinkles a measuring cup full of crickets over his rice and beans as he prepares a meal at his Grand Junction home. Connor and his wife, Naomi, are blogging about their #BugsEndHunger campaign to promote insects as a food source.

Jeremy Connor of Grand Junction is eating insects during the month of May to draw attention to bugs as a way to end malnutrition and hunger.

Breakfast: potatoes with crickets.

Dinner: black beans, rice and fresh salsa, whole roasted crickets and white corn tortillas.

Lunch: corn tortillas with refried beans, olives, crickets, lettuce and salsa.

Lunch: corn tortillas with refried beans, olives, crickets, lettuce and salsa.

By Staff Saturday, May 6, 2017

Jeremy Connor has a long history of picky eating.

Butter on his bread? No thanks. Dressing on his salad? Forget it. Avocados? Nope.

So you can imagine his breakfast Monday morning: potatoes cut homefries-style or in the style of a typical Central American meal and pan-fried until tender, tossed with a handful of crickets.

Yes, crickets. Those crickets, relatives of the stark black insects he saw clinging to the underside of a tarp in his yard when he lifted it a while back. He saw those several dozen bugs and thought, hmmm

Hed been pondering and researching for a while aquaponics, hydroponics, various methods of small-scale, sustainable agriculture that could not only supplement his familys diet, but help him contribute to combating malnutrition and hunger, worldwide problems that have long laid on his heart.

So, insects. Bugs. Creeping (or hopping) critters that some researchers think have the potential to end world hunger.

Ill be the first to admit its not easy, said Connor, 40, a Grand Junction father of four who has a background in ministry. That first time I just kind of breathed through it and once I ate it, it was like, oh, this is OK.

For the entire month of May, Connor is conducting an experiment in which his diet consists only of the insects and plant-based foods that can either be found locally in the four regions of the world with the highest concentration of people who endure chronic hunger, or brought in through food aid programs.

Working with various agriculturalists and producers of insect-based products around the country, he said the goal is not just to raise awareness of the benefits of incorporating insects into a balanced, omnivorous diet, but to produce a picture-based Farming Insects Guide that can be distributed and used around the world.

Via their Seeds of Action organization (seedsofaction.com) and #BugsEndHunger campaign, and in partnership with Little Herds (littleherds.org), Connor and his wife, Naomi, said they hope to be part of a dietary change not just in developing nations, but at home as well.

While Naomi and the children arent consuming insects to the degree Jeremy is, their 12-year-old son did request an insect-infused cake for his birthday Saturday.

Its all part, Jeremy said, of conquering the ick factor, making insects just another element of a balanced diet, rather than something to be eaten on a dare, and something that can be farmed worldwide to support families not just nutritionally but economically as well.

Its definitely fear of the unknown and this perception that bugs are gross, and all the negative connotations with them, explained Wendy Lu McGill, founder of Rocky Mountain Micro Ranch (rmmr.co) in Denver, at which she and her business partner, Kyle Conrad, farm crickets. Increasingly, you find more people who say things like, I know this is really important, I know this is sustainable, I know this is valuable nutritionally, but its not for me until I have to.

Even with attention increasingly being given to eating insects On Eating Insects, a book exploring the science, culture, ethics and gastronomy of it, was released Monday theres a revulsion toward insects in western culture that dates back millennia, said David George Gordon, a Seattle chef and author of The Eat-a-Bug Cookbook.

As soon as (western) culture got into agriculture, instead of hunting and gathering, insects became a pain in the neck, Gordon said. They ate the grain, they ruined crops. We fought them and our first instinct became to kill them. But my own perspective is we really need bugs to keep the planet functioning.

A 2013 United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization report (fao.org/docrep/018/i3253e/i3253e.pdf) on entomophagy, or the practice of eating insects, cited insects as part of traditional diets for more than 2 billion people worldwide.

According to the report, insects provide food at low environmental cost, contribute positively to livelihoods, and play a fundamental role in nature. However, these benefits are largely unknown to the public. Contrary to popular belief, insects are not merely famine foods eaten in times of food scarcity or when purchasing and harvesting conventional foods becomes difficult; many people around the world eat insects out of choice, largely because of the palatability of the insects and their established place in local food cultures.

Many involved in entomophagy, including Gordon and McGill, acknowledge that the western diet including its bags of potato chips and its sugar-laden processed foods has to a degree become the aspirational diet worldwide, so in a lot of countries that traditionally have eaten insects, they think of that as bush food, or for old weirdos, Gordon said. Theyd rather be eating Colonel Sanders, so theres actually been a kind of die-off of traditional ways.

McGill said that because hunger is a multi-faced, multi-dimensional problem with causes, and thus solutions, that can vary from region to region, a facet of combating it might be the addition and normalization of insects in the western diet.

We arent culturally inclined to distinguish between good insects and bad insects, wrote anthropologist Krystal DCosta in a 2013 blog post for Scientific American. And I dont know that we care to make this distinction. Insects are different theyre like miniature monsters with their antennae and pincers and multiple appendages. By casting them all as bad, theyre easier to deal with.

Its the Fear Factor problem, Jeremy Connor said: People grow up daring each other to eat bugs. Its a horrifying, gag-inducing rite of passage. And even with increased efforts to normalize and promote insects as part of a balanced diet, theyre still a novelty item when they show up on menus, a bragging right and badge of honor when consumed.

But they could be just dinner. Or part of it, Connor said.

Consider his May 1 meals, the first of his monthlong experiment and focusing on the cuisine of regions in Central America and the Caribbean that consistently deal with food insecurity and hunger: Breakfast was potatoes with crickets. Lunch was mayi moulin ak paw, a Haitian dish with cornmeal, coconut milk and kidney beans, to which Connor added mealworm powder (mealworms being not actually worms, but beetle larva).

Dinner was black beans, rice and fresh salsa with 1/3 cup of whole roasted crickets, plus white corn tortillas.

The crickets in his breakfast alone provided him with 14 grams of protein, but its not just protein, he said. Insects can provide so many more nutrients than just protein, including iron, calcium, riboflavin and niacin.

He suggested that insect powders might provide the gateway for many people, something they can sprinkle in their smoothies and begin to normalize the idea of consuming insects for those who have not traditionally done so.

And for those who have, Connors goal is to create strategic relationships worldwide, offering people the support, education and means to safely and productively farm insects so that they can not only provide for their families, but sell the surplus and work toward economic independence.

He and Naomi are documenting his monthlong journey with a daily vlog on their website, and though Im doing it as a campaign this month, I feel like our family is transitioning as a lifestyle, he said. At the end, I feel like (eating insects) will be a part of our life.

It starts, then, one bug at a time.

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Cipid que pos acculpa cum res quo vollacepe nimi, odia dolum solupta quo voluptas incium nisciis et quamus quas autecea qui dios mi, ium dus, aut rae lacepudio vitatur, incto exceptatust eum, quatiur? Iquist ex et occum facearc iendeni eniminihicim cons

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Bug bites - Grand Junction Daily Sentinel

Dear Sir, George and Candy Gonzalez make all sorts of misleading statements in their letter last week (Fri 28th). It would take a very long time to address each point, but let me reply to a few. First, whilst acknowledging the fact that any medical intervention has risks, the science is clear: vaccines are safe and effective, and adverse side effects are rare. In fact, and more importantly, NOT vaccinating your child has more risk!

Secondly,though there are more vaccinations than ever before, todays vaccines are far more efficient. Small children are actually exposed to fewer immunologic components overall than children in past decades.

Thirdly, the type of mercury found in thimerosal, ethylmercury, differs from methylmercury, the type commonly found in fish and known to be harmful in large amounts. Ethylmercury, is broken down and excreted from the body much more quickly than methylmercury, and no scientific study has found a link between ethylmercury and autism or any other harmful effects. With respect to formaldehyde, research shows there is 50 to 70 times more formaldehyde present in an average newborns body than in a single dose of vaccine. In brief, current science shows formaldehyde in vaccines to be harmless. And where aluminumis concerned, it is the third most common naturally-occurring element, after oxygen and silicon. It is found in plants, soil, air, and water. A breast-fed infant will naturally ingest around 7 milligrams of aluminum in her diet throughout the first six months of her life. In contrast, the standard vaccines administered over the first six months of an infants life contain an average of just 4.4 milligrams of aluminum. Aluminum has been used safely for over six decades in vaccines, with no scientific evidence indicating otherwise.

Fourth, yes, the US passed the 1986 which gave vaccine manufacturers immunity, for good reasons at the time. This does not mean you cannot receive compensation for adverse effects, and indeed the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act has paid over US$3 billion (up to 2012). Between 1988 to 2008- 925 claims were compensated a very, very small number of the children actually vaccinated in that same period.

The science is open, available and comprehensive with respect to vaccines, and I encourage everyone to read and educate themselves on the matter. But just like climate change, there is a minority of loud voices that lead an anti-vaccine campaign based on fear and bad science and it is dangerous for every child.

Yours Sincerely, Steve Heighway Equally Concerned About All Children

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In favor of vaccines - Amandala

Kris Wartelle Society & Causes Reporter(Photo: The Advertiser)Buy Photo

I started wondering about diets lately.

By wondering, I mean, wondering why everyone else is on one and Im not. I probably should be. Most everyone I know is on one of the following: The Caveman diet (they call it Paleo but I call it caveman). They can only eat meat and lettuce. I tried this once. I think I lasted a full day but I really dont remember. It could have been just half of that. There's the Green-only cleansing diet. I have several friends doing this. I have no idea what that entails, but I assume it is the same diet as above only without the animals(or meat). Anything green is cool.

Im good with that for the most part. Once, I ate only orange stuff all day. Not on purpose, it just turned out that carrots, oranges and Diet Sunkist were the only things I had handy. Dont ask me why thats not a real diet. If there is a green-only regimen, why cant there be an orange one? My guess is because people would figure out that Cheetos and cheese crackers are also orange and that would wreck everything. Who knows?

Daughter No. 1is always saying she cant eat anything white. Bread, rice, pasta, all that is a no. Id have to rule that one out because Im sure white chocolate would not be allowed, andthe minute you tell me I cant have it, all Id want is that.

Daughter No. 2became a vegetarian, but that was after she became a vegan. She went through that one in high school and it nearly killed me. There are only so many frozen, black bean veggie burgers with no animal broth added that one can consume. Andshe considered kale a necessity. Kale that we bought, but never figured out how to make properly. So, then it became brown kale. Brown stuff was not allowed on someones diet, but I cant remember which one.

I probably could start my own diet plan. Wed call it the Society diet. You know, it would sort of remind you of the Hollywood diet. If you follow the Society diet, you basically survive on hors doeurves and wine or whatever cocktail you like when you go out.

This diet also reminds me of the movie "Mermaids" with Cher and Winona Ryder.Remember that scene where she cant make any real food at home because she only knows how to make hors doeuvers? She even has to cut her kids sandwiches into little stars. I totally get that now.

Sugar is allowed on the Society diet because, well, it is in almost everything and it is impolite to turn it down in some circles.

Then,during Lent and the months of June and July, you dont go out at all and youlive on salad and vitamin water. That pretty much makes up for the rest of the year.

Im kidding, of course. Please dont try this at home unless you are a highly trained professional.

I think I prefer Ms. Ella Meaux's diet. She retired from Borden's after 56 years, at the age of 86. She said sheate ice cream every day. All I cansay is,Ms. Ella,whatever you did, it worked, so carry on!

Read or Share this story: http://www.theadvertiser.com/story/life/luxury-living/2017/05/05/society-diet-you-live-hors-doeurves/101295590/

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On the Society diet, you live on hors d'oeurves - The Daily Advertiser

The Victorias Secret Fashion Show is a yearly spectacle. But while it may look easythe preparation sounds impossible.

YouTubers Candace Lowry and Michelle Khare tried the diet Victorias Secret models do leading up to the fashion show. They did two days of the models typical diet," recommended by their dietician, and then two days of the liquid diet theyre also allegedlydo.

For this, Lowry says the models do nine full days of just having protein smoothies, egg whites,a gallon of water, and work out twice a day. So thats what they did.

Day one started off with a promising combination of Oatmeal and eggwhites, fruit and greek yogurt. A lot of workouts and salads followed. And then, just liquids.

Khare said:

I am tired, just really really tired, because on this Victoria's Secret diet I can't really eat the things I want to eat. After I train I want to reward myself and instead I'm cooking vegetables right now as a snack. I guess that's the life of a model.

After the diet, she said:

The first two days, which were the regular diet days, were very manageable.

Lowry added:

Then, days three and four (egg whites and liquids only) , I had no energy.

Khare said:

It was really about survival. I had trouble sleeping too, because I was so hungry. It doesn't feel sustainable. It's not a healthy way to lose weight. No one, as a regular person, would go through this. And the models are supposed to represent thepeople buying the clothes, who are regular people.

Here's the video:

More: This model only ate 500 calories a day while working. Now she's shared what she looks like after giving it up

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People actually tried the Victoria's Secret pre-show diet and it went horribly - The indy100

We had 10 ladies attend our meeting this week. Shirley was our biggest loser with 3.4 pounds lost this week. Keep up the great work Shirley. We had a net loss of 6 pounds this week. Doing great ladies!

Our Yes-Yes for the week is to eat an apple a day to keep the doctor away.

Our program was on Nutrition Myths Debunked. Examples of weight loss myths are Fad diets work, skipping meals help promote weight loss, carbohydrates are fattening, eating at night will cause weight loss, and eating less than 1,000 calories will help lose weight for good. Reality checks proved these to be myths.

Our leaders challenge this coming week is become a diet myth sleuth. Identify any advertisement that seems too good to be true. This can be from a magazine, television, the internet, etc. Make a list of reasons why the diet advertised will not work in the long term. Then, identify healthy ways to lose weight. Weight loss takes hard work and motivation.

The two-bit jar weekly contest was won by Laura.

We started our May Flower contest tonight. We receive a flower petal for every half-pound we lose. Who will get their flowerpot full of flowers first? Lets go girls.

We are preparing for State Recognition Day in Tulsa May 4-6, at the Southern Hills Marriott on 71st Street. We will meet at Cornerstone Tabernacle to carpool to Tulsa.

We would love to get to know you. You are welcome to join us in getting healthy by contacting Billie at 918-489-2155 or Shirley at 918-571-3353. Or, drop in on Thursday evenings at the Cornerstone Tabernacle at 401 W. 8th St., Gore. We meet from 5 to 7 p.m. Looking forward to meeting you. Billie.

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Nutrition myths debunked - Sequoyah County Times

CBS San Francisco Bay Area

Oakland A's Open Peanut-Free Seating Section For Games CBS San Francisco Bay Area But for some people, peanuts are not part of their day-to-day diet and can do them harm. So we got to pull the peanuts out of baseball for some people. The small section of seating at the Oakland Coliseum will be specially cleaned and maintained to ... and more »

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Oakland A's Open Peanut-Free Seating Section For Games - CBS San Francisco Bay Area