BY GRACE GOINS
Recent studies have shown that eating insects may actually promote good health, wealth and a cleaner environment. The most popular types of insects that are consumed worldwide include locusts, crickets and assorted larvae, and the practice of insect consumption is very much a way of life in countries within Asia, South America, and Africa.
There are a number of advantages to eating insects as compared to the types of animals most-commonly butchered for consumption within the United States. Insects serve as an excellent source of protein and are rich in fiber, but unlike their bovine and avian counterparts, are typically quite low in fat. Insects can adjust to variable climates more easily than most other creatures, and can be farmed in massive quantitites relatively inexpensively.
About 2 billion people worldwide regularly consume insects, either as a delicacy, a staple of a regular diet, or as part of a cultural tradition. In the island-nation of Thailand, over 200 kinds of insects, varying from crickets to larvae, are sold frozen at local supermarkets. In Cambodia deep-fried tarantulas are as common a sight as hotdog carts are on the streets of New York City. In Australia, honey-pot ants, so called for their sweet taste, are consumed as a unique kind of dessert.
With this being said, the question remains: How long will it be before insects, like sushi before it, become the next culinary trend to cross onto American shores?
