The Importance Of Entomophagy

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Entomophagy, the practice of eating insects, is an unwelcomed idea in the United States, but insects are widely consumed by people from Africa, Asia and South America. While some cultures enjoy bugs as food and delicacy, others are disgusted by them and only see them as irritants and pests. Joseph Milton, a biologist and a journalist, has been working in academia for 10 years and wrote for Financial Times, New Scientist and Nature. Now, he is assistant editor of The Biologist and the Journal of Biological Education. He published an article called “Why not eat insects? I’ll give you a couple of reasons” on Scientific American in 2011 in response to Why Not Eat Insects?, a book written in 1885 by Vincent M. Holt, a British entomologist. According to Milton, people should not eat insects because they provide a poor eating experience. As he says, “…they taste pretty awful and have a horrible texture to boot.” (Milton) He talks about his own experience of eating insects at London’s Natural History Museum. He attended an event called “Edible insects – food for the future?” and tried a few different insects that are offered on the menu. He ate mealworms, giant mole crickets, toasted weaver ants, bamboo worms, and fried giant crickets. However, he did not enjoy the meal and describes the taste as musty. Although insects are consumed by many cultures as a delicacy, Milton believes that entomophagy will not be popular in anytime soon.
The Western diet is adopted by some countries and it is known for its large portion of red meat, refined grains, and high-fat dairy products. It typically consists of more sugar than carbohydrates and it is seen as an unhealthy diet. In the book In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan, h...

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...eb. 16 July 2014.
Gray, Nathan. "Meating the Demand: The Future of Meat Replacement Proteins." FoodNavigator.com. William Reed Business Media SAS, 10 Aug. 2012. Web. 16 July 2014.
Hill, Kyle. "Don’t Bug Out, but Your Food Is Covered in Insects." Saloncom RSS. Salon Media Group, Inc, 5 June 2013. Web. 16 July 2014.
Huis, Arnold Van, Joost Van Itterbeeck, Harmke Klunder, Esther Mertens, Afton Halloran, Giulia Muir, and Paul Vantomme. Edible Insects: Future Prospects for Food and Feed Security. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2013. Print.
Milton, Joseph. "Why Not Eat Insects? I’ll Give You a Couple of Reasons | Creatology, Scientific American Blog Network." Scientific American Global RSS. Scientific American, 29 Aug. 2011. Web. 10 July 2014.
Pollan, Michael. In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. New York: Penguin, 2008. Print.

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