# Would you rather eat cheese or bugs? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 7, 2001, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-eat-cheese-or-bugs/86002 "2001-10-07T23:17:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RickQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@RickQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickQ)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2001, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-eat-cheese-or-bugs/86002/1 "2001-10-07T23:17:57Z")
My sweetie and I were talking on the phone earlier on tonight and somehow the topic of eating bugs came up, I think grasshoppers were specifically mentioned and I said “I’d rather eat bugs than cheese”. Which is true, I would eat bugs in preference to cheese. See, I have this thing about cheese. I hate it. I hate it with a passion. I don’t like the taste or the smell. I don’t like sitting next to someone who is eating cheese if I can smell it. Some of the strong smelling ones turn my stomach. Am I alone on this. Am I really insane? I post this here cause I figured it is not really a great debate (though **Brynda** and I have debated it several times). Whadda ya say, dopers? Rick ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2001, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-eat-cheese-or-bugs/86002/2 "2001-10-07T23:28:06Z")
I have this thing about bugs. I hate bugs. I hate the sight of bugs and while I can’t really say much about the smell, the thought of being next to someone eating bugs is pretty horrible. I can understand not liking cheese (barely), but the how anyone–even my sweetie–can prefer the thought of eating bugs is beyond me. Please, dopers, help me convince **RickQ** that he is, in fact, quite insane [sub]and not because he loves me, either.[/sub] Cheese is good. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![tapioca\_tundra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a88e57/32.png) [@tapioca\_tundra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapioca_tundra)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2001, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-eat-cheese-or-bugs/86002/3 "2001-10-07T23:34:29Z")
Cheese fried? Bugs dipped in chocolate? Try these. BOOTIT ---
**Author:** ![Arden\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@Arden\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arden_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2001, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-eat-cheese-or-bugs/86002/4 "2001-10-07T23:34:35Z")
This is a serious question? 🙂 I have eaten both (stupid survival skills class at camp) and I prefer cheese. ---
**Author:** ![RickQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@RickQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickQ)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2001, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-eat-cheese-or-bugs/86002/5 "2001-10-07T23:40:46Z")
**Arden** , it is a semi serious question. I really hate cheese (just incase anyone did not get that) and I would eat bugs before cheese. I don’t expect anyone to agree with me, but I just thought I’d ask. 🙂 Rick ---
**Author:** ![ARose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8491ac/32.png) [@ARose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ARose)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2001, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-eat-cheese-or-bugs/86002/6 "2001-10-07T23:47:15Z")
My step-father and I’s motto is “death by cheese.” You can put cheese on anything. You can eat cheese with anything. So many kinds of cheese… oh god, they’re totally tasty!! You are, quite simply, nuts for not liking cheese. You have my sympathy Brynda, for dating someone who won’t eat cheese! Hehe… just kidding, but I love cheese (if you didn’t get that from the earlier statements). ~ARose ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2001, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-eat-cheese-or-bugs/86002/7 "2001-10-07T23:47:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Brynda \* > \*\*Please, dopers, help me convince **RickQ** that he is, in fact, quite insane [sub]and not because he loves me, either.[/sub] > Cheese is good. 🙂 \*\* This should be easy to solve. Get two bowls. In one put some cheese and in the other an equal mass of bugs. Sit across the table from each other. **RickQ** gets the bug bowl and you _ **Brynda** _ get the cheese bowl. Both of you have to empty your bowls by eating the contents. Before starting you _ **Brynda** _ offer to trade bowls. If **RickQ** trades bowls he loses, because obviously his was fibbing all along. If he doesn’t trade and then doesn’t eat all the bugs, he loses. In order to make this contest worthwhile, you _ **Brynda** _ must offer an irresistable reward in the event he eats the bugs, but if he trades bowls or fails to eat all the bugs then he must be at your command for a full day. And how can anyone not like cheese? ---
**Author:** ![truthbot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@truthbot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/truthbot)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2001, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-eat-cheese-or-bugs/86002/8 "2001-10-07T23:56:06Z")
I kill two birds with one stone! [Cheese mites](http://www.hunkinsexperiments.com/pages/mites.htm) ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-eat-cheese-or-bugs/86002/9 "2001-10-08T00:01:03Z")
I have joined in the consumption of fried grasshoppers whilst in Bangkok. They are not bad, taste sort of like crunchy popcorn. Ants are also okay. I never got up the courage to eat roaches or scorpions, though. Most cheeses are okay, so I would have to say it was a push. One hint on the grasshoppers: you should remove the little stick part of the back legs before consuming. Oh, and some lemon grass and chilis goes nicely with them. ---
**Author:** ![Qwisp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qwisp/32/397_2.png) [@Qwisp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwisp)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-eat-cheese-or-bugs/86002/10 "2001-10-08T00:19:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kniz \* > \*\* > > In order to make this contest worthwhile, you _ **Brynda** _ must offer an irresistable reward in the event he eats the bugs, but if he trades bowls or fails to eat all the bugs then he must be at your command for a full day. > > And how can anyone not like cheese? \*\* If he wins just don’t kiss him EEEWWWWWW. How can you not like cheese. There are as many varieties as there are different tastes. I love a good pepperjack to snack on. Better yet is the ultimate grilled cheese made with swiss and sharp chedder. Buffalo wings dipped in blue cheese dressing. Yummm, and I’m just getting started. **Cheese good. Bugs bad.** ---
**Author:** ![Whammo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@Whammo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whammo)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-eat-cheese-or-bugs/86002/11 "2001-10-08T00:53:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by truthbot \* > \*\*I kill two birds with one stone! [Cheese mites](http://www.hunkinsexperiments.com/pages/mites.htm) \*\* NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Tell me there are NOT mites in the veins of bleu cheese!! Its simply bacterium… right… that was a joke about the mites in that cartoon right?? BTW… I love cheese. I could subsist on cheese alone. I could not live my life happily without cheese. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-eat-cheese-or-bugs/86002/12 "2001-10-08T01:28:53Z")
> [@](#): > > I have eaten both (stupid survival skills class at camp) and I prefer cheese Did they teach you how to forage cheese in the wilderness? ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-eat-cheese-or-bugs/86002/13 "2001-10-08T01:43:33Z")
Now you can have both! It’s [_ **Casu Marzu** _](http://free.freespeech.org/scrapmetal/casumarzu.htm)! The Black Market’s very own Maggot Cheese! ---
**Author:** ![Scribble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scribble/32/3317_2.png) [@Scribble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scribble)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-eat-cheese-or-bugs/86002/14 "2001-10-08T01:43:51Z")
I hate to tell you this, Whammo, but neither the cheese mites nor the follicle mites is a joke. They’re both going strong. (I know this because I’m a student in entomology, so we hear a lot about this stuff.) I’d bet you already know about the dust mites that live in your bedding and on some other places where humans hang out for long periods of time. So there’s no need to terrorize you further with stories about those guys. But I do feel that I should point out that almost everyone eats at least a few arthropodal critters pretty often. The FDA actually has regulations stating how many insect parts per foodstuff mass can be present in flour, tomato paste, orange juice, and many other basic food items. Do you like fig newtons? Every fig newton has many, many microscopic insect parts. All figs harbor a colony of fig wasps, which have a mutualistic relationship with fig trees. Fig wasps pollinate the female fig flowers and then produce offspring inside the fruit. Eventually, the wasps burst from the fruit to pollinate more fig flowers. But whenever you eat a sweet, ripe fig, you’re also ingesting quite a few itty-bitty bugs. As far as the insects someone might ingest on purpose… I like to eat live waxworms (larvae of the wax moth, _Galleria melonella_.) They’re pretty tasty. I used to work in an insectary, where we raised insects for teaching and research. My boss had to tell us peons _not_ to eat the waxworms, because we were destroying the colonies with our snacking! If you feel you’d prefer less Klingon-eque fare and would rather eat your food dead and cooked, there are a few cookbooks you could check out. _The Eat-a-Bug Cookbook_ gives some recipes for cooking up insects. So does _Butterflies in My Stomach_. But I digress from the topic of the OP… I’d rather eat waxworms, live or lightly pan-fried (they taste like slightly nut-flavored shrimp when sauteed with a little garlic. Yummy!), than many of the crappy white or orange blocks of wax labeled “cheese” by supermarket chains. On the other hand…it’s hard to beat a good myzritha, or a delicious Parmesan, Manchego, Romano, Brie, Bleu cheese, gjetost, or _real, homemade_ Mozzarella or farmer’s cheese. How about waxworms with linguine in an olive oil, garlic, and basil sauce with Parmesan? My mouth waters at the very thought… ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-eat-cheese-or-bugs/86002/15 "2001-10-08T02:01:20Z")
How about a nice grasshopper cheddar fondue dinner for the two of you? ::breaks out the little tongs:: ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Blue\_Green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Green)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-eat-cheese-or-bugs/86002/16 "2001-10-08T02:09:51Z")
I ate the chocolate covered ants once and caramel covered caterpiggley. Not much different than Nestles Crunch and Carmelos, respectively. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-eat-cheese-or-bugs/86002/17 "2001-10-08T02:11:09Z")
AAAAHHH!!! I for one LOVE cheese! Mozzarella sticks, pizza, cheese fries, crock cheese balls spread on crackers, cheese dip in a rye bread trencher, cheesecake…mmmmm… ---
**Author:** ![quinoa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/a9adbd/32.png) [@quinoa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quinoa)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-eat-cheese-or-bugs/86002/18 "2001-10-08T02:26:55Z")
i have this look of utter horror on my face after reading that someone willingly puts little squirmy things in their mouth and enjoys it! larvae? you eat larvae?? live?!? _wigs out_ man i can’t even look at photographs of squiggly things like that without freaking out much less imagine chomping down on one! i would rather eat a piece of vile licorice which sends me to gagging fits than even hold one in my hand! cheese please. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-eat-cheese-or-bugs/86002/19 "2001-10-08T02:30:54Z")
Cheese, glorious CHEESE! It’s the heart of my stomach! ---
**Author:** ![B.Serum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/b.serum/32/14266_2.png) [@B.Serum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Serum)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-eat-cheese-or-bugs/86002/20 "2001-10-08T02:37:03Z")
I was raised in Wisconsin. My answer should be obvious. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-eat-cheese-or-bugs/86002.md?page=2)