Here's something that's more unappetizing to chew on. What's coming for dinner..
Will we eat bugs?
-Emma Suttie
The French biotech firm Ÿnsect has just announced plans to construct a global network of insect farms, significantly ramping up production. Ÿnsect will soon boast the world’s largest vertical insect farm in Amiens, France. The company says the vertical farm model allows the production of more protein using less space and fewer resources. The automated facility is the second in France and claims it will manufacture 20,000 tons of insect-based foods annually...
...The most popular insects in the edible market intended for humans are black soldier flies, grasshoppers, mealworms, silkworms, and crickets (yum! crunch crunch).
...Ÿnsect uses two types of mealworms which are the beetle larvae of the Molitor mealworm (also known as Tenebrio molitor) and the Buffalo mealworm (Alphitobius diaperinus)..
...Back in the U.S., we are already eating bugs, mostly unintentionally. According to FDA guidelines, a certain amount of insect parts are, although not desirable, allowed in the foods we eat. The Food and Drug Administration’s Defect Levels Handbook states that certain “natural and unavoidable defects” are allowed in our food and, supposedly, don’t pose threats to humans.
For example, any macaroni and cheese product may contain as many as 225 insect fragments or more per 225 grams of food. Peanut butter allows 30 or more insect fragments up to 100 grams, and wheat flour allows 75 or more insect fragments per 50 grams. Interestingly, the FDA categorizes the presence of insect parts in foods as ‘insect filth,’ and other things it allows in our foods are mold, Drosophila fly eggs, and ‘rodent filth’, which includes hairs and feces. The list is comprehensive and a sobering reminder that we are already consuming insects and many more things we might not have imagined. Simply put, it is all but impossible to keep these contaminants out of our food entirely...
Some have expressed concern about the push for those in Europe and North America to adopt insects into our diets and the simultaneous imposition of fertilizer bans in places like Europe, Canada, and Sri Lanka.
In the Netherlands, the EU’s largest food exporter, the government is forcing farmers to sell their land to the state unless they reduce the amount of nitrogen fertilizer they use. Without fertilizer, farmers can’t produce enough food to feed themselves or to export—let alone turn a profit. In the United States, some speculate that a tax on meat may be in our not-too-distant future to help incentivize the public to choose more sustainable foods, like plant-based protein sources or, that’s right, edible insects...
Some wonder if it is a coincidence that the World Economic Forum, in a 2023 Global Risks Report, called for a ‘transition to net-zero, nature-positive food’ to fight ‘food insecurity.’ The WEF considers edible insects a zero-emission food. The report states that the WEF calls for ‘radical policy measures’ to encourage the transition to ‘zero-emissions food.’ These statements have caused concerns that imposing burdens on the cattle and dairy industry is making it difficult for them to produce what is needed for the industry to survive, which may pave the way for the insect industry to thrive and, ultimately, give less choice to consumers...
One question that doesn’t come up in the discussion about edible insects is the effects of eating bugs on human health. And while the benefits seem clear to a planet with an ever-increasing population and food industries that can save costs and resources, we might consider if eating insects is actually good for us and what the consequences might be—especially long term.
One concern is that there seems to be some uncertainty about whether chitin, an abundant polysaccharide found in the exoskeleton of insects, is harmful to humans, if we can digest it, and its potential effects on human health—especially inflammation and the immune response.
A review published in Clinical Reviews and Allergy Immunology in 2018 states that ‘mammalians’ cannot synthesize chitins, and they are considered a potential target for recognition by the immune system. The study authors state that chitins can activate various immune responses, primarily in the lungs and gut, and elicit allergic reactions, raising concerns about their consumption.
The lack of research on the effects of consuming insects on human health makes it challenging to know the long-term consequences, and more investigation is needed to answer this question.
Mike Adams of Natural News, a vocal critic of eating insects, recently purchased some edible insect products on Amazon and took microscopy photographs at magnifications ranging from 50X to 300X at his food science lab. Adams purchased three cricket products labeled for human consumption and one for consumption by reptiles. The photos—that look like something out of a horror film—can be seen here.
In the article showcasing the gruesome photos, Adams says, “While the meat supply chain is being destroyed by governments who claim nitrogen is evil—yes, the very same governments that still claim carbon dioxide is a pollutant even though it’s the pillar of photosynthesis—we’re all being told to eat crickets and mealworms to save the planet.”
Products in the edible insect market include whole insects, insect powder, insect meal, and insect oil. Types of insects included in the analysis are crickets, black soldier flies, and mealworms. Their applications include animal feed, protein bars and shakes, bakery and confectionery products, and beverages.
The bigger question might not be will we eat bugs, but will we choose to eat them? While some may see insects as an easy win for their ethics around food and the environment, others may find them a glaring imposition made by a wealthy elite who can have their steak and eat it too.
Whole article at the link.
theepochtimes.com |
