What's wrong with eating insects?

[MikeH]

Healthy, low fat, nutritious, plentiful, cheap, environmentally friendly (compared to livestock).

A large percentage of people in the world eat them. Why are we so against eating them in the west?

Seems stupid.

Especially if you are happy to eat something like a prawn. What's the real difference between eating a prawn and a cricket? Other than the cricket is likely to have had a much better diet.

[Heresson]

Nothing wrong with it, just we're not used to it. I would have nothing against eating crickets, as long as they're crushed or something and resemble cockroaches no more.

I did eat locust oneday, I believe.

[C0ckney]

someone's been watching ray mears...

[MikeH]

Heston.

[Proteus_MST]

In germany you had may beetle soup till the beginning of the 20th century
and also candied may beetles.
It all ended however, when may beetles became an endangered species.
Seems like they tasted a little bit too good
AFAIK the only insect that got eaten in europe on a large scale at this time.

But well, european cuisine seems to (re)discover insects.
There already a few restaurants that specialise in insects (at least in germany...dunno about the other countries)

[OneFootInTheGrave]

I don't eat prawns either, I'd rather be a vegetarian.

[Wezil]

I'm told I ate caterpillars as a young child. Not the little skinny ones but the big furry ones...

I have no memory of doing it but whenever the topic comes up I accuse my parents of denying me a proper diet and forcing me to fend for myself.

[BeBMan]

Healthy, low fat, nutritious, plentiful, cheap, environmentally friendly (compared to livestock).

A large percentage of people in the world eat them. Why are we so against eating them in the west?

Seems stupid.

Especially if you are happy to eat something like a prawn. What's the real difference between eating a prawn and a cricket? Other than the cricket is likely to have had a much better diet.

Also birds eat them a lot. Even western birds. 'Fcourse from the insect's perspective everything looks a tad different.

[loinburger]

No doubt Speer has sex with insects as well as with horses and so will object to the practice of eating insects.

[Cort Haus]

Eww.

I don't care if I'm wrong. I'd rather be wrong than eat insects. Don't really like prawns either, FWIW.

Mind you, the way the economy is going it will probably come down to that.

[Wezil]

Don't really like prawns either, FWIW.

I like them so long as you call them shrimp.

Prawn sounds like a peasant.

[Docfeelgood]

eat a spider in the water why not one on land?

[Dinner]

Nothing really though the ones I've had in the past didn't taste all that great. the fried scorpion just tasted like the peanut oil it was fried in and was just a hard chewy stick with no other taste. The fried grasshoppers though were gushy as all get go. When you bite into them the internal fluids just squirt all over the place. The fluid was thickish feeling in the mouth but didn't seem to have much flavor on it's own while the skin/shell was just crunchy and tasted like peanut oil. Not horrible but not exactly a culinary treat either.

[Dinner]

In germany you had may beetle soup till the beginning of the 20th century
and also candied may beetles.

One would figure beetle soup and other insect delights would have made a comeback during the WW1 famine and the hard times of WW2.

[The Mad Monk]

Healthy, low fat, nutritious, plentiful, cheap, environmentally friendly (compared to livestock).

A large percentage of people in the world eat them. Why are we so against eating them in the west?

Seems stupid.

Especially if you are happy to eat something like a prawn. What's the real difference between eating a prawn and a cricket? Other than the cricket is likely to have had a much better diet.

Don't worry. We all eat plenty of insects.

Especially if we enjoy peanut butter or tomato sauce.