Ready To Eat Some Bugs? Illinois Farm Begins Cultivating Insects

When you really think about it, it's kind of weird what we accept as "appropriate" to eat.

Somewhere along the way we decided that it was ok to eat cows, chickens, certain fish, and about 30 different plants. Now, you can tell me that it was all about domestication and what's available and that's fine. What's true is that there are thousands of other sources of protein in the world that just aren't socially acceptable.

Why don't we eat other animals regularly? PETA is a crazy organization but I do have to give them credit for one of the best billboards out there. The one that asks you where we draw the line on eating animals.

It's a good question if you think about it. Cows? Of course. Pigs? I love bacon. Chickens? Who doesn't love tenders. But dogs? Cats? Horses? Guinea Pigs? You have to be a monster to eat those. Why?

Now I'm not advocating people to start eating dogs. But when I ask myself why, I don't really have a good answer. Is it just because dogs play with us and are good companions? Then explain this video.

Sorry if you've never seen that video before. It's pretty brutal if you think too long about it. I mean, those are all just basically dogs. Delicious dogs, but dogs none the less. Maybe dogs are delicious too? I'll never know because I can't eat a dog but I also have to recognize the ethical hypocrisy within me.

But what about the biggest untapped resource of protein on the planet? That would be insects. There are trillions of them and only about 8 billion of us. They're no grosser than snails and we eat them pretty regularly. Is it time to start eating bugs?

Well, maybe not for us, but we should probably start thinking about feeding them to the animals that feed us. That's what's about to happen at a farm in Decatur, Illinois. The downstate farm will be one of the nation's leaders in producing insect protein.

 

Insect farming is a young industry looking to capitalize on the world’s increasing hunger for seafood, meat, dairy, and eggs. Growing protein-rich feed for livestock takes up a lot of land and water. Insect-farming start-ups say they can produce valuable feed ingredients with very little of either; the insects are raised on food and agriculture waste and require no additional water.

It will only be a matter of time before we skip the middle man and just start eating the insects ourselves. I'll hopefully be dead by then but who knows.