# 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:** 15\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139/61 "2011-05-04T22:08:23Z")
If they taste like shrimp, I’m game. If they taste like lobster, no thanks. How big can these guys get on land? I suspect that, if it became popular, we’d be raising the biggest with the most meat. Alton Brown said lobster are closer to cockroaches, BTW, as an effort to make it easier to be okay with killing them. I wonder if bugs also are alive until eating. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139/62 "2011-05-04T23:12:05Z")
I kept telling myself i should eat some insects- you know, because of the username thing- and because I’m quite keen on wild food foraging. So last summer, i went and caught a dozen medium-sized grasshoppers and took them home, intending to fry them up with some salt and chilli flakes. All the way, i kept telling myself that it could be no worse than eating crabs, shrimps or crayfish- all of which I have foraged, killed, cooked, prepared and eaten. But i just couldn’t go through with it. The differences between marine and land arthropods may be slight, but there was just something extra twitchy and weird about the insects. I’ve since eaten chocolate ants,but that’s not the same thing. For the moment, the consumption of whole, medium to large insects remains beyond my comfort zone. I’m aware this is largely cultural inertia,but it runs deep. ---
**Author:** ![Quia\_Sic\_Dico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/bbce88/32.png) [@Quia\_Sic\_Dico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quia_Sic_Dico)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139/63 "2011-05-04T23:33:57Z")
> [@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 definitely no biology dofer, but I do remember reading that certain crabs are so closely related to spiders that they should properly be termed arachnids. Crustaceans are much closer related to insects and arachnids than humans are to fish. Personally, I’m so arachnophobic that I almost imagine I’d rather eat humans than either spiders or crabs. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139/64 "2011-05-05T00:43:55Z")
> [@Quia\_Sic\_Dico](#): > > I’m definitely no biology dofer, but I do remember reading that certain crabs are so closely related to spiders that they should properly be termed arachnids. - I believe this is horseshoe crabs, which are not commonly eaten (not even sure they’re edible to humans). > [@](#): > > Crustaceans are much closer related to insects and arachnids than humans are to fish. I’m not sure that’s correct - I think insects and crustaceans diverged at approximately the same sort of time as land-dwelling vertebrates diverged from fish. (~400 MYA) ---
**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 5, 2011, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139/65 "2011-05-05T01:41:23Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > - I believe this is horseshoe crabs, which are not commonly eaten (not even sure they’re edible to humans). Yes, they are, but from what I’ve heard they taste awful. Of course, that could be no one has hit upon the proper condiments yet. Then again, some people like cilantro, or durians, or various other things many people find repulsive. Some species in some locations contain toxins, so you’d have to watch out for that. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139/66 "2011-05-05T07:54:40Z")
It makes absolutely no difference how nutritious or not various insects maybe. The reason the Western world doesn’t eat them is its simply a cultural taboo. If you stuck a Western couple in a Skinner box and had the parents include bugs in their offspring’s diet since birth you’d get people who see absolutely nothing gross or wrong about eating them. They’d look at you like you were crazy. The best proof of this is **chicken eggs**. Think about what eggs really are, where they come from, how we cook them etc. You casually crack open & whip up & fry undeveloped bird embryos for breakfast. Yum! Uncooked eggs right out of their shells even totally look like that: Gooey, birthfluidy, membrane & nucleus having zygotes! **Get me a spoon!** 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Double\_Foolscap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@Double\_Foolscap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Double_Foolscap)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139/67 "2011-05-05T08:22:38Z")
I’m going to join in with the “because they’re gross and icky” crowd. Same reason I don’t eat tomatoes in their natural form. I had a hard enough time walking past the live crab stalls when I was in a French market because they look like they’re posed to jump on your face and make sweet sweet love to your various orifices - adding spiders and other long-leggedy beasties to the mix would make me eschew markets for ever. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139/68 "2011-05-05T09:25:16Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > I’ve always said “if shrimp were land animals, we wouldn’t eat them.” Well, coconut crabs are largely terrestrial, and I’d eat one in a second. They’re supposedly quite delicious. I’ve always regretted not trying the scorpions in China (although I was told it was a kind of a tourist thing) or the fried crickets in Thailand. I’ll certainly try them if I get another chance. I’ve been meaning to go to [El Tule Mexican Restaurant](http://www.eltulemexicanrestaurant.com/) in San Jose where they have chapulines (grasshoppers). ---
**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 5, 2011, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139/69 "2011-05-05T11:50:27Z")
> [@](#): > > It makes absolutely no difference how nutritious or not various insects maybe. The reason the Western world doesn’t eat them is its simply a cultural taboo. But it’s reasonable to ask where the taboo comes from, since, in practical terms, it seems as if there’s no reason _not_ to eat insects, and since people all over the world have done so for most of human history. Again, I support Harris and his Cultural Materialism theories. Bugs aren’t intrinsically “icky”, and plenty of cultures (including Western culture at the time of Aristotle) didn’t think at least certain bugs were. ---
**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 5, 2011, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139/70 "2011-05-05T12:53:53Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > 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. From Wikipedia: > [@](#): > > Neither plants nor animals are independently capable of constructing vitamin B12.[24] Only bacteria have the enzymes required for its synthesis. The total synthesis of B12 was reported by Robert Burns Woodward[25] and Albert Eschenmoser in 1972,[26][27] and remains one of the classic feats of organic synthesis. Species from the following genera are known to synthesize B12: Acetobacterium, Aerobacter, Agrobacterium, Alcaligenes, Azotobacter, Bacillus, Clostridium, Corynebacterium, Flavobacterium, Micromonospora, Mycobacterium, Nocardia, Propionibacterium, Protaminobacter, Proteus, Pseudomonas, Rhizobium, Salmonella, Serratia, Streptomyces, Streptococcus and Xanthomonas. > > Industrial production of B12 is through fermentation of selected microorganisms. > [@Broomstick](#): > > 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. Allergies are kind of a red herring, aren’t they? I mean, don’t eat something you’re allergic to. I note that Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease kills people who eat cows, but that does not appear to have deterred you from eating meat. ---
**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 5, 2011, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139/71 "2011-05-05T15:30:40Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > > [@Broomstick](#): > > > > 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. > > Neither plants nor animals are independently capable of constructing vitamin B12.[24] Only bacteria have the enzymes required for its synthesis. The total synthesis of B12 was reported by Robert Burns Woodward[25] and Albert Eschenmoser in 1972,[26][27] and remains one of the classic feats of organic synthesis. Species from the following genera are known to synthesize B12: Acetobacterium, Aerobacter, Agrobacterium, Alcaligenes, Azotobacter, Bacillus, Clostridium, Corynebacterium, Flavobacterium, Micromonospora, Mycobacterium, Nocardia, Propionibacterium, Protaminobacter, Proteus, Pseudomonas, Rhizobium, Salmonella, Serratia, Streptomyces, Streptococcus and Xanthomonas. Uh-huh… and how does that contradict the fact that natural – that is, non-industrial, non-synthetic – source of B12 for human is animal products? No, the animals don’t make it directly, but that’s what supplied it in the human diet until the 20th Century. > [@](#): > > Allergies are kind of a red herring, aren’t they? I mean, don’t eat something you’re allergic to. I note that Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease kills people who eat cows, but that does not appear to have deterred you from eating meat. Nope, you don’t get it. First of all, bovine spongiform encephalitis is NOT Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. The are both prion diseases, but that’s like saying that rabies and HIV are the same because they’re both viruses. Both incurable and deadly, but not the same thing. Second, BSE a.k.a. “mad cow disease” is not inherent to cows, much less any other form of animal flesh. An uninfected animal simply can’t give you the disease and is safe to eat (assuming you aren’t allergic to cows). If you can’t find cows you feel are safe you can eat fish or chicken or some other animal. Allergies, on the other hand – if you’re allergic to, say, soy beans you are affected by something _inherent_ to the food. A perfectly healthy, disease-free soy plant can still kill someone allergic if they ingest it. There is no way to make soy safe for someone allergic to soy. Legumes are an important cornerstone of most vegan diets. Remove ALL legumes – beans, peas, lentils, peanuts, etc. - and what do you have? It would be very difficult to consume adequate protein without them. Sure, there’s seitan, and… well, what? Those allergic to legumes are pretty much obliged to eat meat, although it’s not necessary at every meal or even every day. ---
**Author:** ![DZedNConfused](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dzednconfused/32/15991_2.png) [@DZedNConfused](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DZedNConfused)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139/72 "2011-05-07T01:32:34Z")
Because they’re icky enough running across my bed at 3 am? Also I suspect I’d expend more energy in collecting enough to get “full” than they give me. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139/73 "2011-05-08T02:55:25Z")
OK. You go first. … I do love watching Bear Grylls choke down the occasional scorpion or beetle, better man than me! If bugs gave me a speck of his energy, I’d be scoping out an anthill tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139/74 "2011-05-08T06:43:41Z")
I’ve told this story here before, but when the 17-year cicadas hit the Washington, DC, area a few years ago while I was living there, I downloaded some recipes and instructions for harvesting them. You had to go out early in the morning when they had just molted and their carapaces were still soft. They were pretty tasty! I was raised vegetarian, but once I gave myself over to meat eating as an adult, it was all pretty much the same to me. Learning to eat bugs was easier than learning to eat bits of pig. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139/75 "2011-05-08T14:44:36Z")
I eat shrimp, lobster _and_ crab quite happily, even though I _do_ refer to them as “the cockroaches of the sea” and speculate that someone must have been _awfully_ hungry to have tasted them in the first place, to discover they’re actually pretty yummy! In sixth grade, my social studies teacher brought in some chocolate-covered ants for us to try, and I tried one. It was like eating a chocolate-covered rice krispy. And yet, I think if someone sat a big ol’ plate of locust in front of me, no matter how temptingly/deliciously prepared and sauced, I wouldn’t be able to bring myself to eat them. I dunno why. However, there used to be a show on TLC called _Food Detectives_, and they did a whole episode about eating bugs. Some of their test subjects ate some bread that was made primarily from insect-flour (basically finely ground insects) and they all said it tasted pretty much like bland bread, maybe a little drier. The upside is that it was much higher in protein and lower in carbohydrates than most bread. If that were available to me, and wasn’t hideously expensive, I’d try it. Of course, I’d put plenty of butter on it, though! 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-eat-insects/580139.md?page=3)