Last year I took a course in environmental psychology. That sounds totally weird, but the aim was to explore how environmental problems can be addressed in modern society, borrowing from sources in the environmental sciences, psychology, sociology, and anthropology. Our main assignment was to develop a feasible campaign, based on relevant literature and personal intuition, that could be applied to a population and actually incite change towards greater environmental consciousness. The project we came up with was to promote entomophagy—the consumption of insects—in western culture. We were all so satisfied with our campaign outline that we decided to turn it into an actual organization on campus called “Bug Bites.”
The reaction I’ve gotten from telling people about this has been divided: I’m either met with a disgusted “Why would you do that?” or something along the lines of “Huh, that’s actually kinda neat.” If you couldn’t guess, I belong to the latter camp. But why?
In short, it’s because insects have tremendous nutritional, economic, and environmental benefits. Studies have found that certain insects have nutritional content that rivals traditional meats. Different insects have varying nutritional benefits, including but not limited to proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. Although nutritional content varies from insect to insect, the scientific consensus is that insects are a viable nutritional source.
Insect farming also has considerable economic and environmental benefits that mostly go hand-in-hand. Farming insects requires far less space and feed, and the insects reproduce at a significantly faster rate than traditional livestock. Additionally, insects can often be fed waste that is inedible for humans, reducing overall waste and saving farmers money on livestock feed.
Despite these benefits, introducing insects to an unfamiliar culture has proven to be difficult. As part of our project, my group and I interviewed several of our friends and found common themes in the aversion towards insect consumption. The three main issues were: disgust, accessibility, and ignorance of use (i.e. unsure how to cook the product). Interestingly, people seemed more willing to eat an insect if the food they were eating did not look like one. Extending from this point, we realized that, for example, people do occasionally eat a chocolate-covered insect as some sort of dare or challenge. We felt like this habit of turning insects into a novelty food would never allow it to become mainstream as a potential ingredient for everyday use. Thus, our motto, “Normalize—don’t novelize,” was born.
Considering these barriers, Bug Bites decided to start bringing insect-based foods to students, but pre-cooked and without a “buggy” look. Specifically, we made brownies with cricket flour. Yes, cricket flour. This demonstrates that insect products can be interchanged with existing ingredients without the taboo associated with bug munching.
As of right now, our goal is to raise awareness and demand. We need more people to know that entomophagy is a viable, sustainable, and nutritional lifestyle choice that would only add to the recipes we already make and love, eventually incentivizing farmers to shift at least part of their focus to insects. And what’s exciting is we’ve already met plenty of people who are excited to explore insect-based food options, especially when we tell them about the benefits.
So if you see us around on campus, come say hi and chat with us for a bit. And, if you’re feeling up to the challenge, maybe try a bug or two—or three, if you’re daring.
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