Can i eat insects

Lewis Bollard, who runs the farm animal welfare program at Open Philanthropy — the effective, altruist-inspired grantmaking group funded by billionaires Cari Tuna and Dustin Moskovitz — recently published an excellent rundown of the perils of insect meat , specifically when it comes to industrializing insect meat production.

First and foremost for animal welfare supporters, the market for human-edible insects is completely overshadowed by the market for insects as feed for farm animals. Most insects are raised to be fed to farmed fish and chickens or ground up into pet food. Then there are the insects themselves. Pigs are really smart; they can play video games.

But humans are constantly expanding our circle of moral concern. And though most humans have yet to expand their moral circle to fully include farm animals, attitudes on animal welfare have certainly evolved.

The number of pets in the US has more than doubled since the s, while the number euthanized every year has fallen dramatically, from 20 million to 3 million. Bees understand the number zero , a concept that human children often cannot grasp. Fruit flies sometimes act in ways that suggest they experience a form of chronic pain. Is it so inconceivable that the insect world might deserve humane treatment? Because insects live very short lives, that annual total encompasses many generations; only between 79 billion and 94 billion farmed insects are alive at any given time.

Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment: to empower through understanding. Financial contributions from our readers are a critical part of supporting our resource-intensive work and help us keep our journalism free for all. Please consider making a contribution to Vox today to help us keep our work free for all. Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from.

By choosing I Accept , you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Reddit Pocket Flipboard Email. A diner eats a scorpion at a market in Mexico City. Next Up In Future Perfect. Delivered Fridays. Thanks for signing up! It turns out, insects are a good source of protein and healthy fats. In fact, mealworms contain protein , vitamins, and minerals in amounts similar to fish and meat.

Likewise, grasshoppers can provide as much protein as lean ground beef with lower levels of fat. Today, more and more people around the world are warming up to the idea of eating insects. But can every insect be eaten? Not quite! How do you know a bug is safe to eat? There are a few guidelines you can use to avoid bugs that might be dangerous.

For example, experts recommend you stay away from insects that are brightly-colored, especially smelly, or hairy. Those that carry diseases, such as flies, ticks, and mosquitoes, should also stay off the menu.

So what bugs are good to eat? Some of the most popular edible insects around the world include beetles, caterpillars, ants, cicadas, locusts, crickets, grasshoppers, and dragonflies. Which of these would you have for your next after-school snack? Are you hungry yet? Be sure to find a friend or family member to help you explore the following activities:.

Hi, Jacob! Spiders are pretty smart! Good question, Lucia! What might seem strange to us is just commonplace to other people. That's why it's good to keep an open mind and learn new things about the world around us. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Angel.

In some cultures, eating insects is totally normal. Hi, Wonder Friend! Thanks for sharing your connection to this Wonder! That sure is a lot of bugs! Hi, Bradley! Thanks for the KIND words! Hi, Sarah! We hope you're careful about what bugs to eat! As the Wonder tells us, not all bugs are edible! Hi, chase! Thanks for sharing your question! We hope this Wonder helped you learn more about why and when insects might be eaten!

We're so glad you're our Wonder Friend, ashlai! Here are some other bug-related Wonders for you to enjoy! Hi, nicolas! We understand you would need something to wash down the tasty bug! Sprite is delicious! That's definitely something to think about, Natalie! You have to be careful about which bugs you eat! Thanks for sharing your connection about this Wonder question, Wonder Friend! Good to hear, ella! Not all insects are edible.

The Wonder tells us "there are over 1, species of edible insects on Earth. We encourage you to keep researching at your library and online! Welcome back, Javon! We encourage you to embark on your own Wonder Journey to learn more! Hi, Lillie! Many Wonder Friends seem to say the same thing about this Wonder! We're glad you like it, too! We hope you check out the Try It out activities! Great question, oscar! We encourage you to embark on your own Wonder Journey to discover more about this topic, as well!

We're sure you can discover all sorts of interesting facts by researching your questions online and at your library! Thanks for sharing your opinion, em! Thanks for joining in, alexis! Eating bugs can seem gross, but there are many people who will say they're delicious! Many Wonder Friends probably had the same reaction, lily! We are undergoing some spring clearing site maintenance and need to temporarily disable the commenting feature.

Thanks for your patience. Drag a word to its definition. You have answered 0 of 3 questions correctly and your score is:. Want to add a little wonder to your website? Help spread the wonder of families learning together. We sent you SMS, for complete subscription please reply. Follow Twitter Instagram Facebook. Are insects edible? Can any insect be eaten?

Which world cuisines feature insects on the menu? Wonder What's Next? Try It Out Are you hungry yet? Be sure to find a friend or family member to help you explore the following activities: How do you feel about eating insects?

Think about some of your favorite foods. Make a list if you need to. How are insects similar to some of the foods you eat? How are they different? Do you think it would be easier to eat insects if they were part of dishes and you didn't know what they were?

Share what you've learned with a friend or family member. What do they think? Do you think insects will be an important part of your diet in the future? Who knows? If you're WONDERing which insects might make it to your plate at some point in the future, read through 7 Insects You'll Be Eating in the Future to learn more about the insects that hold the most promise as future food sources.

So now that you know that you can eat insects, is there any way to make them taste good? Jump online and check out recipes from Insects Are Food for some ideas of bug dishes you could try to make at home.

Are you curious and courageous enough to give one of these a try? Did you get it? Test your knowledge. What are you wondering? There are many different types of aphids, and they have different plant preferences. What they feed on can affect what they taste like, ranging from slightly bitter to sweet. Grubs are fat, juicy, and usually white in color. Maggots are thin, yellow-brownish, and legless.

They are both edible though. When and Where: There are many different types of maggots. Some maggots live in rotting flesh and spoiled meat.

They also tend to live in rotting vegetables and fruit. Some even live in water. Maggots are incredibly high in protein and other beneficial nutrients. Dragonflies are the most common in the spring and summer months. They more or less have two life-cycle stages: nymph and adult.

Both of these stages are edible—though one is much easier to catch than the other. These are edible, but can be a pain to catch because of how fast and dexterous that are. Both the larval stage and the adult stage are edible.

The larval version is probably easier to catch, though. Dragonfly larvae live in water and are more common in the spring and summer months. These bugs are edible, but either harder to find or riskier to collect and eat. The ones that you eat in a restaurant have been fed safe-to-eat plants; the people preparing them know exactly what those snails were eating.

If you wild snails or slugs, you risk contracting rat lungworm, which can turn into eosinophilic meningitis causing severe brain and nervous system damage. Then be sure to cook them thoroughly. Fun fact: fried spider is a delicacy in Cambodia. If you cook them, curled legs are an indicator of how done they are and how well cooked the insides are. One of the most common edible spiders is the Thai zebra spider, but it is venomous and aggressive.

Cut off the stingers and legs. Cook well. But be forewarned: These fliers are dangerous to catch. Some are toxic, like the giant silkworm moth and the puss caterpillar. So either do some research about the area you plan to be stranded in or proceed with extreme caution. Whenever possible, you should cook your insects before you eat them.