1.1 Introduction to Entomophagy & Acheta domesticus
The world’s incessant demand for protein has been showing no signs of slowing down in recent years, despite the multitude of environmental problems concerning meat production that have arisen along the way – and entomophagy could be mankind’s solution to this predicament. Enter the world of entomophagy: the practice of consuming insects as a food source. The consumption of insects is not a completely foreign concept, with archaeological evidence dating back several thousand years demonstrating that the human diet originally featured insects (Huyghe, 1992). In fact, many societies in Africa and South America still incorporate insects as a crucial part of their diets (Huyghe, 1992) - and there is no reason for Australia to be an exception. Insects are exceptionally nutritious and particularly rich in protein, thus representing a highly viable food source for humans (Rumpold & Schlueter, 2013). One such insect is Acheta domesticus, also commonly referred to as the house cricket.
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The consumption of Acheta domesticus is not completely unheard of, and is a household food staple of people residing in the north and northeast of Thailand (Yhoung-aree, 2010). These crickets are ideal as a human food source: they reach adult-hood quickly, are high in nutrients, produce substantial numbers of offspring quickly, are amenable to cultivation, and flourish under a wide range of environmental conditions (Collavo et.al, 2005) – thus making them ideal for producing and integrating into bread.
Abstract: The house cricket, Acheta domesticus, was used to test whether food and potential mates drive aggressive behavior. Male crickets were randomly selected in pairs and place into a cage to observe aggressive behaviors in the presence of no food, food, and female. The cage provided a confine area for the crickets to fight one another while the variables of food and female were used in attempts of increasing aggressive interactions between the male crickets. There was no significance found through this experiment due to a lack of data. It was discovered that the experiment would have to be done at a larger scale to be able to see any significance in the two variables.
In the book The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan challenges his readers to examine their food and question themselves about the things they consume. Have we ever considered where our food comes from or stopped to think about the process that goes into the food that we purchase to eat every day? Do we know whether our meat and vegetables picked out were raised in our local farms or transported from another country? Michael pollen addresses the reality of what really goes beyond the food we intake and how our lives are affected. He does not just compel us to question the food we consume, but also the food our “food” consumes.
Gardner, Christopher. Notes from the Doc Talks. Stanford University. Web. April 10, 2014. Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. New York:
Cannibalism is a long-standing taboo in our society; the thought of humans preying on other humans for a food source disgusts and astounds us. Though the practice is not common amongst modern day humans there is some evidence to suggest that ancient humans resorted to such measures, and a recent discovery in Madagascar attests to the possibility that some carnivorous dinosaurs fed on their own species (Perkins, 2003).
Insects can survive in very hostile environments and they are difficult to completely eradicate without harming the environment. Studying their metabolic rate under stress might allow us to figure out better and more environmentally safe ways to kill them.
In the book, “Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals” by Michael Pollan, Pollan writes about the mad-made problems associated with our food chain that compromise the quality of the food we eat. The journey was from the industrial farms of Iowa and feedlots in Kansas to organic farms and slaughter houses in Virginia to finally, the supermarkets in which we all shop at. Pollan not only traced the ecological path of food from cultivation to consumption but also the evolutionary path of our diet over the years. His points show how we as humans have so many dietary options but so little information about what we should eat and where our food comes from.
Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. New York: The Penguin Press, 2006. Print.
Forensic entomology can be broken down into three areas: medico-legal, urban, and stored product pests. Urban entomology involves insects that affect houses, buildings, and other human based environments. Stored pest entomology involves insects infesting stored goods such as food and clothing. In this paper, medico-legal entomology will be the focus as it is the type of entomology that entomologists use to utilize insects to solve criminal cases, (Houck and Siegel. Entomology).
When raising cows, pigs, and chickens they take up a lot of land, food, and water. But what about crickets. Crickets take up a fraction of all those resources. Not only that but they also produce less greenhouse gas and ammonia. These gasses can be very harmful for the planet and us humans. Considering that crickets are one of earths untapped resources it can help preserve our world longer. In an article by NBC News they state “The world's population is creeping up on 7.5 billion, but estimates suggest we'll have a whopping 9 billion mouths to feed by 2050.”. But with crickets we could change that, unless you wanna be feeding ur students a fraction of their food or just salads every day, I would make the switch to
The damselfly species is part of an insect group called Odonata. Odonata consists of dragonflies, which are the suborder Anisoptera, and damselflies, which are the suborder Zygoptera. The insect group Odonata is very small, probably containing only about 5,000 living species (Corbet, 1999).
In their article, “The Six-Legged Meat of the Future,” Dicke and Van Huis argue that due to the decline in the supply of meat in America, we should begin to use insects as an “alternate animal protein”
Ranging from animals in the present time- lions, pigs, ants, otters, apes, poultry, mantis, spiders, scorpions, mice, etc., to approximately 100,000 years ago with the early humans, Neanderthals, to the beginning of the Mesozoic Era with possibly the first dinosaur, Coelophysis (Bossel et al 2001, Defleur et al 1999). The reasons for resorting to cannibalism vary according with their environment. Some animals resort to cannibalism for survival needs, ritual activities, or protecting their territory. This essay will look at animals that engaged in cannibalism across a large geological time scale.
Throughout the history of the human race there have been a great number of crops that were discovered, planted, and over time domesticated. Wheat in the Middle East, rice in Asia, and rye in Eastern Europe are all some of today’s staple crops that feed millions every day. Crops like these make up over 50% of the world’s total food supply. However, the third most eaten crop in the world is maize, or corn, which provides 21% of human nutrition. Today maize feeds millions across the world, but its history is different from the others.
Forensic entomology is the study of insects and arthropods and their relation to a criminal investigation. Forensic entomology can determine the postmortem interval (PMI) or how long since the descendants’ death, whether the body has been moved since expiring, and what injuries may have been sustained (Ryan, 2011). When decomposition begins, insects establish a colony to lay eggs on the remains; these eggs will hatch into larvae that will eat the human organs and tissues. Forensic entomologists can determine the specific insects present in the body and estimate how long a body has been left exposed by examining the stage of development of the fly larvae; however, these findings are not always plausible. The fly larvae look and act different at each stage of development. The time required for stage development is not only affected by environmental influences such as geographical location, climate, and weather conditions, but also by type of insect. The forensic entomologist must consider these conditions when estimating the postmortem interval. Knowledge of insects, their life cycles, and their habits make entomological evidence a priceless tool for an investigation. Forensic entomology has proved its significance in a number of cases; though circumstances such as weather, temperature, and time of year clearly affect the development of insect infestation, and the expert must keep these in the forefront of his/her mind (Innes, 2000).
If you had a choice between a burger and a bowl of crickets, I think I would know which you choose to eat. As disturbing as this sounds, in the near future we may not have that choice. With our annual protein consumption rising, and Europe’s protein sources decreasing, coupled with a growing population, we may have only one alternative… Insects.