With insects being “the food of the future”, I’m happy to proclaim that I likely won’t live long enough for entomophagy to be the dietary mainstay for everyone on Earth.
However, I’ve never had a very adventurous palate – I mean, I’m not into offal either.
Over the years, mass media has given insect-based food a bigger presence, which means I get to witness exactly how different bugs are plated. And the way some of them are plated…don’t actually look like it’s a plate of bugs.
And while the thought of crunching on them is still a little nauseating, maybe eating insects is just a matter of how you frame it.
A Sustainable Food Source
I’m all for sustainability – I use my own reusable grocery bags, and I separate recyclables from my trash.
But what does it mean when it comes to the food I eat?
Practicing the 3Rs is a minuscule feat against how much the production of my beloved beef patties are hurting the environment. Livestock remains one of the major contributors to greenhouse gases and deforestation activities.
In comparison, rearing insects require markedly less water, land, and feed to produce the same amount of protein.
Not only is the environmental damage from eating insects more minimal, it’s a scalable solution to addressing food security issues
With the global population projected to reach well over 9 billion by 2050, and crop yields expected to decline in the future due to climate change, insects might be the key to combating humanity’s impending food crisis.
An Oddly High Nutritional Value for Something So Small
Not only are insects an environmentally healthier source of food, they’re also surprisingly nutritious.
Its most well-known value is, of course, in its protein content; when compared on the same weight basis, edible insects might actually contain more protein than meat. Insects also come ready-made with a bunch of other nutrients.
“The edible insects especially at the early stage of their development (larvae) are rich in healthy lipids/fats. In general, edible insects are rich in micronutrients such as vitamins, Omega-3/Omega-6 fatty acids, minerals and antioxidants. Interestingly, edible insects are also rich in fibre,” explained Professor William Chen, Director of Nanyang Technological University’s Food Science and Technology Programme, in CNA.
“Interesting”, because fibre is something animal protein lacks.
And in terms of taste, if you happen to enjoy nuts, I’ve heard insects tend to offer a nutty flavour.
Important for the Future – And of Historical Merit?
Policymakers have been advocating for insect protein as a viable path towards a healthier, more wholesome future – just recently in 2024, the Singapore Food Agency gave approval for the consumption of 16 types of insects.
If legalising the eating of crickets isn’t a sign that we should open up to the idea of it, I don’t know what is.
However, with how often insects are positioned as exotic or future-forward meals, I forget that humankind has already been using them to fill their bellies for thousands of years, particularly in parts of Asia.
Even now, insects aren’t seen as an all-too-unusual dish in Southeast Asia; they’ve long been available as street food here and there.
But many of us Asians – myself included – still see entomophagy as a novelty. Perhaps that’s just because we’re unfamiliar with the idea. Munching on fried grasshoppers, or spicy silkworm pupae…
I mean, the closest I’ve come to eating an insect was a cockroach that met its end in a wok as a hawker accidentally prepared it together with my fried rice order.
Or at least, that’s what I think.
What If We’re Already Eating Bugs?
Let’s talk about a pigment called carmine.
Carmine is a permitted food colouring that can be found in drinks, candy, and processed meats.
It’s also made from cochineal. Which is an insect.
That’s never stopped us from enjoying a good cheeseburger.
To be fair, it’s not as if carmine comprises a huge portion of that cheeseburger – it’s just a food dye. It’s not as if many of us are aware of exactly what constitutes every piece of food we bite into.
But if you really think about it, bugs have been part of a modern person’s diet for ages, even if it doesn’t feel that way.
But does that mean I’m now willing to try a plateful of crispy crickets?
Insects Aren’t for Everyone – And That’s OK
If I contemplate the fact that edible insects are more planet-friendly and nutritious, and my partaking of them harkens back to my own cultural heritage as an Asian, will I be more likely to eat them?
Well, no.
And that’s alright.
We all have our own food preferences or diets that we want to follow. Insects also aren’t the best food option for all of us. If eating seafood like prawns and crabs get you itchy, then you might want to stay away from edible insects. They are related to shellfish and crustaceans, after all.
While the prospect of eating bugs on a stick is a little foreign to me, modernised versions of this have slowly been making its way into restaurant fare.
Even more intriguing to me are the culinary creations of protein bars made with cricket flour, and flavoured mealworms packaged in potato chip bags. As we speak, Sheng Siong is currently stocking these mealworm snacks up on the same shelves as they do their actual potato chips.
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Above: High-quality insect-based snacks by local companies Altimate Nutrition and Insect Food.
And eating bars and chips, even when they involve insects, is a lot less alien a thought.
Maybe if supermarkets stock more insect-based snacks, adding them to my basket will feel less like a random act of bravery and more like a norm.
