Culture
Buggin’
Why grubbing on grubs might not be so bad
by Derek Shaw
They’re creepy and crawly; they’re slimy and grimy—or at least that’s what we think. Insects are the most underappreciated and misunderstood animals in the world, when in fact they have played a crucial role in human interaction, medicine and nutrition for tens of thousands of years.
Entomophagy is the act of eating bugs, which is considered rare or taboo in the United States, Canada and Europe yet is rather common throughout the world. Records dating back to 40,000 BC show that Europeans and Africans indulged in termites and bee pupae. Silkworm cocoons have been eaten in China as far back as 2,500 BC.
Western culture has long stigmatized the consumption of bugs, therefore, it is considered gross, uncivilized and unnatural by most Americans. However, the reality is that bugs are actually quite sanitary and self-grooming, and many people worldwide incorporate insects into their daily diets.
“Maybe we’re the weirdoes,” reasons David George Gordon, renowned author and entomological epicurean extraordinaire. “We’re one of the few cultures that don’t eat insects, and it’s about time we explore dietary alternatives.”
Gordon is known for his culinary creativity with such trademark concoctions as fried green tomato hornworm, cream of katydid soup and Pest-O made of roasted garden weevils in basil sauce. Gordon’s favorite dish is grasshopper kabob, in which insects are skewered and barbequed with vegetables and basted with oil, lemon, honey and mustard. Grasshoppers, which he claims taste like green peppers, are as nutritional as lean ground beef.
“Insects are the most valuable, underused and delicious animals in the world,” says Gordon, a Seattle-based naturalist who conducts national tasting-workshops. “I want to provoke curiosity and get people to think for themselves.”
Perhaps someday you’ll get a fly in your soup and smile in delight instead of shudder in disgust. Maybe we’ll soon be digging around our backyards and scouring under our refrigerators for food. There are hundreds of ethnic groups and indigenous cultures that include insects in their cuisine. We may think of entomophagy as a foreign concept in the US; in reality, Native Americans ate bugs long before Christopher Columbus landed on our shores.
Of the world’s millions of insect species, merely 800,000 have been analyzed, and of those only about 1,500 are known to be a regular part of the human diet. Many insects are not only high in protein; they are also rich in vitamins, minerals, iron, fiber and other essential amino acids. That underscores the importance of entomology in exploring the potential uses and ramifications of bugs as scientists desperately search for new sources of energy.
“Insects can feed the world,” says David Gracer, who owns Sunrise Land Shrimp. “Cows and pigs are the SUVs; bugs are the bicycles.”
A favorite of Gracer’s, cicadas, are a flavorful treat akin to asparagus or clam-flavored potato. They can be prepared a number of ways, but experts believe that cicadas are best if collected in the middle of the night as they emerge from their burrows before their skins harden. Found throughout America, cicadas are commonly boiled for a minute, but they can also be sautéed in butter as hors d’oeuvres or incorporated into a stir-fry dish with vegetables as a main meal.
After hearing Gracer say that cicadas taste “kind of smoky, kind of grassy,” I decided it was high time for me to get my hands dirty. After all, I’ve never been one to turn down some good smoky grass. Fortunately, I found the one restaurant in the United States that offers insects right alongside meat and seafood.
Typhoon is LA’s premiere Pan-Asian restaurant located in the Santa Monica Airport. The adventurous menu includes chicken stuffed water bugs, Singapore-style scorpions, Taiwanese crickets and chambi ants served with potato strings. But according to customers, Thai deep-fried sea worms take the cake as the “filet mignon” of the underground.
Bugs are made into everything from deep fried fritters, dips, tempura and torte. There is already an established infrastructure for domestic insect suppliers, mostly for pets, and there are also Asian specialty stores that sell frozen bugs. A novelty market for worm lollipops and chocolate-covered grasshoppers is growing too. But people have been eating bugs their whole lives whether they realize it or not.
Inadvertently, the average human eats an estimated pound of insects over a lifetime, which includes bugs accidentally swallowed, milled with grain or displaced in other processed foods. Cochineal insects give a red or pink coloring to foods, lipsticks and beverages. The FDA even allows certain levels of natural or inevitable defects (i.e.: insect fragments) in foods so long as they don’t pose a health risk.
Though many insects taste good and are good for you, not surprisingly, some bugs are actually detrimental to humans. Particularly voracious species of insects like spiders and caterpillars can carry toxins that’ll leave a bad taste in your mouth. Also, those allergic to shellfish are also allergic to insects.
From an ecological perspective of sustenance and conversation, entomophagy makes too much sense to ignore and fear. Insects convert vegetation into animal protein far more efficiently than cows or pigs. While cattle and pigs take months or years to get to market, crickets reproduce over a thousand ready-to-eat larvae.
Also, bugs require far fewer resources, energy and land to cultivate. Furthermore, scientists warn that global fish stocks are in danger of decimation over the next 40 years. Even the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is considering insects as a substitute food source.
If bugs become widely accepted as a viable cuisine in industrial countries, the potential economic implications are dramatic. Hand picking pests rather than dousing crops with pesticides could produce two foods in one fell swoop. The Japanese, for instance, raise rice and harvest grasshoppers, simultaneously eliminating the need for nasty chemical treatments and creating a new economic opportunity for indigenous peoples.
In an age when reality television trivializes and sensationalizes entomophagy through shows like “Fear Factor,” which rely on shock value for entertainment, it may be difficult for Americans to get over their gag reflex. But realistically, how many people like raw meat and fish? Most food requires proper preparation and seasoning to be tasty. In the early 20th century, lobster was fed to American convicts until rich people started eating it on transatlantic cruises.
The international insect trade will flourish as the press, politicians and the public increasingly take entomophagy more seriously. It’s an issue that must be addressed sooner or later, but the longer we wait to deal with climate change and energy crisis, the worse off we’ll be.
As Gracer reminds us, “We often think of insects as being a last resort food source— but actually humans are.”
Derek Shaw is a musician, skateboarder and writer. He loves his black lab Spot, and Spot loves him. Check him (and his band) out at myspace.com/dovesanddesperados