Crickets in the canteen: the next food evolution?

Despite being an important part of the earth's biomass and essential to the survival of plants and animals of all kinds, insects arouse a basic distaste in most people. Is it their characteristic six legs that give them a different gait, the small size of most of them that means they can be found anywhere, or the direct association with infestations? Perhaps it's all of the above, but one thing is certain: insects are rarely the headliners of campaigns to save biodiversity. Instead, we prefer large, cuddly mammals.

This "speciesism" is also reflected in our consumer habits. Indeed, although cute, we generally have no qualms about devouring the flesh of lambs, chickens, pigs or cows. On the other hand, offering cookies made from grasshoppers arouses immediate disgust in the majority of Western people.

A quarter of the world is already doing it

While European and North American cultures abhor the idea of entomophagy, it is practised by almost 25% of the world's population in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Traditions that often go back thousands of years regularly incorporate insect proteins into their diets. Although we might be under the impression that this type of diet is dangerous for human beings, studies tend to show that this is not the case. In fact, it provides just as much protein, iron and vitamin B12 as a meat-rich menu. This study analyzed over 140 research studies on the subject of earthworm consumption, and it would appear that earthworms are an excellent source of nutrients of all kinds, all while being less fatty.

While the very idea of eating them probably makes some people cringe, the fact remains that the subject is beginning to interest Westerners. In 2022, Quebec's Laval University opened a chair in edible insects to reflect on how to better think about and improve this new industry. The Ontario government has released tens of millions of dollars to make a cricket farm profitable. France is also increasingly investing in the cricket market.

This interest is certainly new, but it is in line with concern for ecological issues, among others. Given that meat production, particularly beef, is energy- and water-intensive, insect farming seems a healthy, eco-responsible alternative. Of course, insect breeding must be carried out in clean areas to avoid contamination, and health authorities must be on the lookout for potential allergic reactions. Those who already have problems with other arthropods, such as seafood, will probably not be able to ingest insects.

Moreover, the original idea is not to totally replace farmed meat, especially since, as this Quebec journalist explains after trying insect food at a Montreal producer's, it's a matter of taste first and foremost, and everyone will react differently to dishes based on hexapods. And yet, making this paradigm shift could greatly improve our ecological footprint.

When will we see crickets in the canteen?

The question is, when will insects make their way onto our plates, into our grocery stores and into our school canteens? After all, introducing this new food to younger generations will allow them to get used to it, to find it much more palatable. In recent years, initiatives have been launched in a number of countries.

• In Switzerland, the Swiss Insects organization is trying to educate and promote this type of food, among others, among schoolchildren. They can then talk about this industry, the benefits of insect flesh and, above all, give tastings to children to help them better grasp textures and flavors.
  
  
• In Great Britain, academics from Cardiff University and the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) have, in 2022, initiated an experimental program in four elementary school in Wales where alternative proteins would be offered.
  
  The idea is to see whether children and families will gradually change their eating habits, including in the private sphere, to choose more meat substitutes such as insects or vegan replicas. The experiment provides an opportunity to show youngsters the alternatives and remind them that, according to scientists, at least 2,000 species of insects are edible.

There's still a long way to go before insects find their way into canteens and elsewhere. Even in the United Kingdom and the United States, regulations are often put in place by conservative politicians to avoid reducing the amount of meat consumed.

While we can understand the questions raised by the edibility of insects, in the state of Iowa the ban extends to all substitutions, including vegetable ones. The introduction of insects into the diet will therefore have to be achieved through education, if it is to gain popular support - enough to sway those who believe that human nutrition should be solely meat-based.

Image: YAYImages / DepositPhotos

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