# Why not eat Insects? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 29, 2011, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139 "2011-04-29T09:57:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ramel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb8c5e/32.png) [@ramel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ramel)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139/41 "2011-04-30T08:39:06Z")
Everyone already does! When farmers harvest crops, they also harvest the insects that were sitting on the crops. They then get ground up into flour or whatever the crop is being turned into. Then we eat it. Half a pound of insects a year is one estimate of how much humans eat. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139/42 "2011-04-30T09:38:20Z")
Honey is just bee shit anyway. ---
**Author:** ![notsoheavyd3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/85e7bf/32.png) [@notsoheavyd3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notsoheavyd3)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139/43 "2011-04-30T19:04:49Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > For the people who point out that eating insects is no different from eating crabs or lobster, I will point out: I don’t eat those things, either, _precisely_ because they’re so roach-like. I don’t know about that. If I had to guess I’d figure I’m probably more closely related to a fish than a lobster is to an insect or arachnid. Any biology dopers want to comment on that? ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139/44 "2011-04-30T19:44:58Z")
> [@Serameun](#): > > Insect meat patties that look very similar to cow patties is one method to get over the visual problem. Various pastes and even breads can be made too. > > The bottom line is entomophagy is seemingly a cheaper, healthier, and more economically sound alternative to the current farming methods of ‘developed’ countries, and may very well offer a life-support for less fortunate countries. As Spock would say, it is most logical. And you can decorate entomopatty dishes with Morpho wings :smack: ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139/45 "2011-04-30T20:43:19Z")
[Oh well, Hakuna Matata…](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejEVczA8PLU&feature=player_detailpage#t=116s) I do think that in the future we will have to adopt the use of protein from insects to deal with the growing population and shortages. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139/46 "2011-05-02T13:54:03Z")
> [@notsoheavyd3](#): > > I don’t know about that. If I had to guess I’d figure I’m probably more closely related to a fish than a lobster is to an insect or arachnid. Any biology dopers want to comment on that? I’m not sure that it matters. The reason people are comfortable eating sea-roaches but not land-roaches is mostly a marketing issue. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139/47 "2011-05-02T13:56:14Z")
> [@](#): > > And you can decorate entomopatty dishes with Morpho wings Have a look at the Gordon book I cite above – he _does_ use wings and bodies as garnishes on his insect dishes, just so you won’t forget what you’re eating. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139/48 "2011-05-02T14:08:22Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > Shrimp are the cockroaches of the sea. I’ve always said “if shrimp were land animals, we wouldn’t eat them.” But really, it’s even more ecologically sound to go on a vegan diet and eschew animals completely – and it’s easy, and considerably less gross. So why start a movement to kill something else? Just go vegan and solve all the issues with the bonus appeal that you don’t have to start eating bugs. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139/49 "2011-05-02T14:15:34Z")
> [@](#): > > I’ve always said “if shrimp were land animals, we wouldn’t eat them.” Dave Barry said that when he first saw live shrimp, they looked like Insects From Mars, with Too Many Legs. Dave’s on record for not liking Lobster, either, precisely because it looks like a giant insect. That’s Okay. More for the rest of us. Or there would be, if my gout would let me eat lobster and shrimp. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139/50 "2011-05-02T15:01:27Z")
As this thread deals with insects’ gastronomic merits, I’m moving it to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139/51 "2011-05-02T18:38:14Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > But really, it’s even more ecologically sound to go on a vegan diet and eschew animals completely – and it’s easy, and considerably less gross. So why start a movement to kill something else? Just go vegan and solve all the issues with the bonus appeal that you don’t have to start eating bugs. Except, of course, for the little detail that the only natural source of B12 is animals and failure to consume sufficient amounts result in permanent neurological damage or even death. Oh, and some people can’t safely consume things like legumes. In my case, some members of the legume family could kill me in minutes, and the last time I inadvertently ate some I spent 10 hours in Chicago’s Northwestern Hospital emergency room which they tried to pull me out of shock and restore my breathing to normal. So while I’m happy a vegan diet works out fine for you (you ARE getting sufficient B12 supplements, right?) please to do not impose it on those of us for whom it could be fatal. ---
**Author:** ![Pine\_Fresh\_Scent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/43a26b/32.png) [@Pine\_Fresh\_Scent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pine_Fresh_Scent)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139/52 "2011-05-02T20:33:04Z")
I hear lobster and shrimp are high in cholesterol, so I mainly avoid them for that reason. I wonder if the cholesterol content of insects has been studied. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139/53 "2011-05-02T21:15:37Z")
I don’t eat insects primarily because they are not kosher. The oral tradition going along with the Torah passage has been lost. We don’t know just what “kind” it refers to. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139/54 "2011-05-02T21:33:37Z")
Locusts are kosher. Four varieties are, anyway. > **[Kosher locust](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosher_locust)** > > Kosher locusts are varieties of locust deemed permissible for consumption under the laws of kashrut (Jewish dietary law). While the consumption of most insects is forbidden under the laws of kashrut, the rabbis of the Talmud identified eight kosher species of locust. However, the identity of those species is in dispute. The Jewish communities of Yemen and parts of northern Africa, until their emigration in the mid-20th century (and afterwards in Israel), ate locusts which according to their tr Th... Heck, John the Baptist ate them. (Some people think that when the NT says “locust” it means the pods of the tree we call “locust”, but it doesn’t translate that way – John ate bugs.) Insects _are_ reportedly high in fat, so there’s an excuse not to eat them. If you need one. ---
**Author:** ![Paranoid\_Randroid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paranoid_randroid/32/18_2.png) [@Paranoid\_Randroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paranoid_Randroid)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139/55 "2011-05-03T01:15:31Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > So while I’m happy a vegan diet works out fine for you (you ARE getting sufficient B12 supplements, right?) please to do not impose it on those of us for whom it could be fatal. Well … to be fair, **Sailboat** wasn’t talking about _imposing_ a vegan diet on anyone, but rather suggesting that it provides many of the stated ecological advantages of a bug-replete diet. Just as some persons could not survive on a bug diet for medical reasons, some could not survive on a vegan diet, either would be a movement that excluded someone. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139/56 "2011-05-03T01:32:50Z")
One advantage to a bug-containing diet is that bugs can convert some things that aren’t food for us (like cellulose) into a form we can eat (termites, as an example). ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139/57 "2011-05-03T07:27:01Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > One advantage to a bug-containing diet is that bugs can convert some things that aren’t food for us (like cellulose) into a form we can eat (termites, as an example). So can cows, via their intestinal flora. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139/58 "2011-05-03T12:35:20Z")
True, but as pointed out, not as efficiently. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139/59 "2011-05-03T16:59:01Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Locusts are kosher. Four varieties are, anyway. > > [Kosher locust - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosher_locust) That cite agrees with me. Unless you follow the Yemeni tradition, it’s held that the four kinds are unknown. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139/60 "2011-05-03T17:12:00Z")
> [@Pine\_Fresh\_Scent](#): > > I hear lobster and shrimp are high in cholesterol, so I mainly avoid them for that reason. I wonder if the cholesterol content of insects has been studied. There is much recent research that suggests that the effects of dietary cholesterol on blood cholesterol are, at the very least, overstated. [One cite.](http://www.naturalnews.com/025995_cholesterol_eggs_eating.html) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139.md?page=4)