Starvation-threatened Africans are being encouraged to eat insects by a UK aid initiative.

African caterpillars, migratory locusts and black soldier flies are on the menu under the initiative taking place in Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo - but locals are rejecting the offer due to the taste and cultural norms.

Dr Alberto Fiore, the project lead who has whipped up a dish of locally farmed mopane worms, cereals, and fruits, has also created a insect-based porridge containing grains including sorghum and millets, which he reassured the Guardian is palatable.

  • roastpotatothief@lemmy.ml
    341·
    2 years ago

    People say these things all the time. The problem is that insects taste awful. Famished people commonly eat insects, but nobody else. Telling people to eat insects is a bit pointless.

    In terms of efficiency - extracting the most calories from the soil to the plate, poultry and rodents and hares are almost as good. If you’re asking people to switch, these are more realistic suggestions.

      • cult@lemmy.ml
        44·
        2 years ago

        Eating insects is an ancient thing that the vast majority of humans cultures have (and still do) practiced. Even today over 80% of countries practice it.

        The mopane worms of South Africa, for example, are an important symbol of indigenous sovereignty and activism.

        One thing that agriculture invented was food instability. Before that gatherer groups had a really large diverse of foods they could rely on. Lifespans were longer and chronic health conditions were rare. Then we decided got forced into putting all our eggs in one basket and relying on very few main food sources (mainly to support a ruling class). One bad drought and many people die. Europe was basically in constant famine after famine until they finally got the amazing technology of the potato from Andean farmers (Andean farmers actually have over 300 extremely diverse varieties of potatoes of all colors of the rainbow and everything from ornamental to medicinal uses, but Europeans just took 2 or 3 varieties and rolled with it)

        Y’all need to go outside and stop being so snobby about new foods

    • RedCat@lemmygrad.ml
      151·
      2 years ago

      Unpopular opinion maybe but I got to eat insects for the first time today. They tasted relatively neutral, maybe a slight nuttiness. Honestly I wouldn’t mind eating insects. I actually think they could be pretty tasty with a light lemon drizzle or a garlic sauce. With that being said, can the UK please shut the fuck up? If they are so concerned about the planet, eat the insects yourself.

        • lxvi@lemmygrad.ml
          6·
          2 years ago

          They might taste better than the other meat alternatives. I’m honestly waiting for any alternative to cost less than meat. So far the substitutes cost about twice as much

    • cult@lemmy.ml
      135·
      2 years ago

      insects taste awful

      There’s like 5.5 million insect species out there… how could you possibly make such a generalization? The practice of eating insects is called “entomophagy” and many cultures across the world happily eat insects. Tarantulas (tho not technically insects), pupae of certain species, beetle grubs, etc are all considered delicacies in many parts of the world. Lets not forget that it wasn’t too long ago that lobsters or escargo were both considered poor people food that were only eaten out of necessity.

      In fact, most cultures of the world eat insects. It’s a pretty uniquely western thing to be snobby against this food source. Even today, 80% of countries common eat insects.

      I don’t at all disagree with the spirit of this post. But y’all need to get out of your western bubble and stop universalizing how grossed out you are by the idea of this “poor person food”

      • lxvi@lemmygrad.ml
        5·
        2 years ago

        I’ve never eaten a bug so can’t say. Probably wouldn’t be terrible if prepared well. Rich people eat maggots. They also eat eggs before they’ve become eggs. I’m pretty grossed out by that. Some people hate brocolli. I don’t know how much taste in food derives from class prejudice. Though its difficult to defend an absolutist point of view you seemed to have taken offense to and I don’t want to anyway. Other people do things in their own way.

        I just want to add to what you’re saying that no one here is grossed out by other people eating bugs. The western elitest bubble that think they know best is trying to tell Africans to eat bugs. If they wanted to eat the bugs they would have already been eating the bugs and no one here would have a problem with it.

        The arguments the Western elitest bubble are using while trying to teach the Africans what’s best for them are essentially the same as the arguments you’re making above.

        • cult@lemmy.ml
          52·
          2 years ago

          I just want to add to what you’re saying that no one here is grossed out by other people eating bugs. The western elitest bubble that think they know best is trying to tell Africans to eat bugs. If they wanted to eat the bugs they would have already been eating the bugs and no one here would have a problem with it.

          We are in agreement on this point and I’ve never tried to argue against it. The only problem I have with this comment section and the whole framing of this thread is the framing of entomophagy as something “yucky and gross”. In Thailand, people prepare and eat cockroaches. There was at least one comment in this thread presenting the very idea of eating cockroaches as a self-explanatory insult. Which, to me, is the real “yucky and gross” thing

      • roastpotatothief@lemmy.ml
        31·
        2 years ago

        snobby

        y’all need to get out of your western bubble

        It’s not actually a such a bad argument you’re making. But it’s very hard to take seriously when you include little bits of hypocrisy.

    • whoami@lemmygrad.ml
      51·
      2 years ago

      the only time I’ve eaten insects I ate chapulines (grasshoppers), in a mexican/oaxacan restaurant. They were fried, and seasoned with salt, lime and chili, so between the texture and the seasoning, I could have been eating any other fried snack.

    • Zalamander@lemmy.ml
      41·
      2 years ago

      Some raw insects do have an odd taste, but all of the cooked insects that I have tried have tasted pretty good. Which ones taste awful to you?

      • roastpotatothief@lemmy.ml
        2·
        2 years ago

        I’ve only tried them once, as a novelty snack. They were fine, crunchy and sour. I definitely wouldn’t choose it over a normal food.

        But every time I’ve read about people making meals with insects (the same kind of endevour as the OP) the flavour is always hidden in a strong sauce.

        What meals/recipes have you tried that were pretty good?

        • Zalamander@lemmy.ml
          2·
          2 years ago

          There are some big beetle grubs that can be found living inside trees that I tried in the amazon that when fried taste meaty, not too different to chicken. That is my favorite one.

          The rest I have tried in Mexico (where I am from). There is a pink caterpillar called ‘chinicuil’ that tastes similar to the grub but has less meat, so if it is fried in oil you mostly taste the fried skin. The raw chinicuiles do have a very peculiar strong chemical taste that I thinkias unique to them, and eating either of these raw can be unpleasant because you can feel in your mouth how they pop and juices come out. But eating most animals raw is unpleasant anyway.

          Crickets, especially “chapulines” are eaten fried as a snack. Usually we do add spicy powder, but we add that to everything. They are also ground and mixed into salsas.

          We eat ant eggs. You can look up “escamoles”. They are very good but also seasonal and expensive.

          Edit: Found a delicious-looking image of the grubs: https://img.atlasobscura.com/SBUrJMe6IZGYIcWPxhTnCJJ_6ugThLBpjPDKZFlK-qM/rs:fill:580:580:1/g:ce/c:644:644:nowe:264:174/q:81/sm:1/scp:1/ar:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9hdGxh/cy1kZXYuczMuYW1h/em9uYXdzLmNvbS91/cGxvYWRzL3RoaW5n/X2ltYWdlcy9iODgx/ZDBjYmEyOTViMmJj/ZjBfU3VyaV9tb3Rv/cGVydS5qcGc.jpg

          • roastpotatothief@lemmy.ml
            2·
            2 years ago

            That all sounds delicious. I’ll have to wait til somebody imports these culinary techniques to Europe. I guess our insects are probably just as good if prepared right.

            I guess this food is very cheap, so it could be a much tastier alternative to the tofu- and corn syrup-based economy that’s providing for Europe’s food-poor.

  • ☭CommieWolf☆@lemmygrad.ml
    29·
    2 years ago

    The world produces enough food to feed 10 billion people, there’s no damn need for anyone to eat insects. Instead of telling Africans to eat roaches they should stop exploiting the shit out of them for a start.

  • Munrock ☭@lemmygrad.ml
    21·
    2 years ago

    “I’m afraid that if we want to avert the climate disaster that our egotistical greed has caused, other people are going to have to make serious lifestyle compromises.”

  • ThatCakeThough@lemmygrad.ml
    4·
    2 years ago

    The only nations that should cut back are those in the imperial core, anything else is fascist propaganda. This would solve at least 70% of our current climate change problems.

      • TeezyZeezy@lemmygrad.ml
        3·
        2 years ago

        Haha sorry. It came across badly as I was reading another comment talking about how other cultures eat insects quite commonly and that westerners are often grossed out by “poor peoples food”

        So, I’m deleting my comment and taking a moment to collect myself and make an analysis.

        • lxvi@lemmygrad.ml
          5·
          2 years ago

          other people made similar comments as you. In this case I’d consider that if they wanted to eat insects they’d already be eating them. It isn’t Africans trying to, quite literally, jam insects down other Africans throats here. If a culture doesn’t eat insects then for that culture insects aren’t “poor people’s food”.

          You can say sometimes the upper class is grossed out by poor peoples foods. Its just as often for them to fetishize it and appropriate it into an exotic novelty. There’s plenty of foods I wouldn’t eat. I’m grossed out by organ meat. Other people like it. It’s what it is.

          I liked your main thesis of self determination. Give them the industrial means of self sufficiency. If they use those means to harvest insects that’s well and good. If they want to harvest grain and livestock that’s well and good also. Its their decision they can make it for themselves

          • TeezyZeezy@lemmygrad.ml
            3·
            2 years ago

            That makes sense. I just didn’t want to come across as snobby or diss any cultures that do.

            Self determination and sufficiency is a huge thing for most of us, I’d hope, hah.