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A New Source of Protein?

© Diana Pederson

Have you ever eaten an insect on purpose? I am sure many of us have accidentally swallowed a bug or two, but somehow I doubt many of us consider insects as a major part of our diet. Ten Speed Press's book, Man Eating Bugs: The Art and Science of Eating Insects written by Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio in 1998 may change your mind about this possibility. With a very open-mind, let's take a look at the contents of this interesting book.

The authors present information on people from 11 different regions that utilize various insect species in their diet. According to the introduction, the authors spent 8 years researching this book and traveling to each of the countries discussed. The book starts with a section on Australia and ends with the United States.

Australia Aborigines consider the larva of cossid moths suitable for sautéing using in dips. They are described as tasting like "nut-flavored scrambled eggs and mild mozzarella, wrapped in a phyllo dough pastry." [Page 18] If you should ever visit the outback of Australia, perhaps you will enjoy this delicacy too! Or, if you are like me, you may prefer to pass on this experience. Giant waterbugs served with tomato are among the delicacies sampled in Thailand and Cambodia. Perhaps you would prefer the stir-fried ants or termites? Dragonflies are eaten in Indonesia. Pismo Beach, California has a candy factory that produces crème de menthe flavored lollypops complete with a cricket inside. Native Americans ate everything from Pandora caterpillars to grasshoppers. If you read this book, you'll learn about the insects eaten in Australia, Japan, Indonesia, China, Thailand and Cambodia, Mexico, Botswana/South Africa, Uganda, Peru, Venezuela, and the United States.

Who Should Read This Book?

Everyone who has ever collected an insect will find this book fascinating. I've enjoyed learning about the lives of insects since I was an elementary school child. Never, in all these years had I seriously considered the possibility of feasting on these creatures. Although the authors predict insect protein will become more common as the world population increases, I find it difficult to even think about eating them! The insect facts and high quality pictures makes this a book suitable for the entomologist. Anthropologists are missing important information if they don't learn about unusual food items consumed by members of the cultural groups they study.

I believe the biggest fans of this book would be middle-school aged children who just love to know interesting facts to gross out their friends and teachers. Do you like to play trivia pursuit type games? If so, knowing that native Mexican doctors tell their patients to eat stink bugs to treat goiter may improve your team's score.

The copyright of the article A New Source of Protein? in Gardening Techniques is owned by Diana Pederson. Permission to republish A New Source of Protein? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.