Eating Insects: What's Your Limit?

[wolram]

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/06/170608124706.htm

I have tried chocolate ants but i draw the line at eating other insects.

 

[Orodruin]

I think this is purely a mental issue. I really do not see why (on a pure technical level) it would be less disgusting to eat shrimp than insects. Both have several pairs of legs and an exoskeleton. Insects are also consumed in many cultures.

Would I eat them? If given a choice, probably not. But I am going to attribute that to my upbringing regarding "what is food."

 

[phinds]

I think this is purely a mental issue. I really do not see why (on a pure technical level) it would be less disgusting to eat shrimp than insects. Both have several pairs of legs and an exoskeleton. Insects are also consumed in many cultures.

Would I eat them? If given a choice, probably not. But I am going to attribute that to my upbringing regarding "what is food."

Exactly (both of your points)

 

[StatGuy2000]

I think this is purely a mental issue. I really do not see why (on a pure technical level) it would be less disgusting to eat shrimp than insects. Both have several pairs of legs and an exoskeleton. Insects are also consumed in many cultures.

Would I eat them? If given a choice, probably not. But I am going to attribute that to my upbringing regarding "what is food."

Agree with both of your points. Indeed, insects are consumed in many cultures. In Japan, for example, bee larvae (hachinoko in Japanese) is served in pubs the way beer nuts are served. Also in addition, zazamushi (a catch-all phrase of aquatic insect larvae) are served in Japan as well.

http://mentalfloss.com/article/28864/6-odd-things-eaten-japan

 

[wolram]

Agree with both of your points. Indeed, insects are consumed in many cultures. In Japan, for example, bee larvae (hachinoko in Japanese) is served in pubs the way beer nuts are served. Also in addition, zazamushi (a catch-all phrase of aquatic insect larvae) are served in Japan as well.

http://mentalfloss.com/article/28864/6-odd-things-eaten-japan

The Japanese will eat any thing that once moved including dogs

 

[Orodruin]

The Japanese will eat any thing that once moved including dogs

Why would this be so peculiar? We eat many mammals.

Also, it is not only Asians that eat insects and other strange things. In Italy you have the casu marzu cheese ...

 

[Cruz Martinez]

The Japanese will eat any thing that once moved including dogs

Isn't that the chinese?

To answer the question. I probably would to be honest. I've seen other mexicans eat crickets, by the look of it, they are quite tasty.

 

[jack action]

Everyone does:

"It's estimated that the average human eats one pound (half a kilogram) of insects each year unintentionally," says Lisa Monachelli, director of youth and family programs at New Canaan Nature Center in Connecticut.

Cochineal insects give a red or pink coloring to foods, lipsticks, and beverages. The small, scaled bugs are listed as cochineal extract on the ingredient list.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also allows certain levels of natural or unavoidable defects in foods, as long as they doesn't pose a health risk.

For example, chocolate can have up to 60 insect fragments per 100 grams, tomato sauce can contain 30 fly eggs per 100 grams, and peanut butter can have 30 insect fragments per 100 grams (3.5 ounces), according to the FDA.

Read the FDA Defect Levels Handbook for more enlightenment.

But more seriously, I don't understand why people only think of eating whole insects. You could served them in some kind of paste, cooked with appropriate seasonings. I'm not sure that anyone would just sink their teeth in a dead cow like a savage animal.

 

[StatGuy2000]

The Japanese will eat any thing that once moved including dogs

wolram, you're confusing with the Chinese! (the Koreans and Vietnamese were also known to eat dog meat. The Japanese never have, as far as I know -- the Japanese are notorious for eating whale meat instead).

I'm half-Japanese, btw

 

[wolram]

wolram, you're confusing with the Chinese! (the Koreans and Vietnamese were also known to eat dog meat. The Japanese never have, as far as I know -- the Japanese are notorious for eating whale meat instead).

I'm half-Japanese, btw

My bad, I suppose that eating insects in some kind of protein bar would not be so bad, just so long as the ingredients were not included.

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

If you eat grubs don't chew them. Swallowed whole is much less likely to make your vomit.

On a side note, if you're going very far from the main highways in a wilderness area it's a good idea to have an emergency kit that includes tips on indigenous comestibles. Don't bother digging into it until you need it. You'll forget most of it quickly anyway.

 

[Ygggdrasil]

Apparently, toasted chili-lime grasshoppers (known as chapulines in Mexico) are one of the most popular snacks sold at the Seattle Mariners baseball stadium: http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/...selling-toasted-grasshoppers-concession-stand

After surprisingly selling out of grasshoppers at a concession stand for the first three games of the season, the Seattle Mariners have called in an emergency order so that they last throughout this weekend. The team is also imposing a per-game order limit for the rest of the season.

Mariners spokeswoman Rebecca Hale told ESPN that the team sold 901 orders of the insects over the first three home games. The grasshoppers are toasted in a chili lime salt and come in a four-ounce cup for $4.

"We've sold roughly 18,000 grasshoppers," Hale said. "That's more than the restaurant [that runs the stand], Poquitos, sells in a year."

 

[jim mcnamara]

For US members:
Since this is GD, and I do not want to dig through USDA information for a citation, that is craftily hidden (my opinion) from the public, I'll simply mention:
When flour is sampled as a commodity, there a non-zero tolerance limit for frass (bug poop) and insect body fragments. In other words, your Wonder bread could contain some very tiny fraction of some bug's anatomy or eggs as well as his leavings. Same goes for strore bought commercial white flour. This is one reason why flour stored for long periods in a closed vessel develops what people call 'weevils' - the eggs become adult flour eating insects. Kind of like being born in your personal McDonald's.

 

[symbolipoint]

The main reason some people or groups do not eat "insects" is that they are too small, too hard to remove the exoskeleton to get to the good parts, too much trouble to separate the waste-matter from the good parts. Lobster and shrimp and craw-dads - they are just big insects. I would eat smaller insects, as long as they are cooked!

 

[Stephen Tashi]

Don't products like spices, grains and lettuce contain bits of insects as impurities?

 

[symbolipoint]

Don't products like spices, grains and lettuce contain bits of insects as impurities?

Their exoskeletons and their waste products are consumed/eaten without being noticed.

 

[BillTre]

I have eaten a variety of insects in a variety of ways.

The most interesting was eating some locusts that a guy from Thailand, who worked in a locust neurobiology lab down the hall, cooked up at a party with a bunch of spices. The locusts took up the spice flavor (like tofu). Certain parts like the tarsi (their feet) were rather crunchy.

I have a friend who was in the Air Force Academy and took their survival course where they had them eating lots of kinds of insects in the desert.

 

[jackwhirl]

The main reason some people or groups do not eat "insects" is that they are too small, too hard to remove the exoskeleton to get to the good parts, too much trouble to separate the waste-matter from the good parts. Lobster and shrimp and craw-dads - they are just big insects. I would eat smaller insects, as long as they are cooked!

It's the texture that would get me. That's my problem with crab, even.
It's not always possible to get all the bits of exoskeleton.
I'll take the lab grown meat instead, thanks.

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

For US members:
Since this is GD, and I do not want to dig through USDA information for a citation, that is craftily hidden (my opinion) from the public, I'll simply mention:
When flour is sampled as a commodity, there a non-zero tolerance limit for frass (bug poop) and insect body fragments. In other words, your Wonder bread could contain some very tiny fraction of some bug's anatomy or eggs as well as his leavings. Same goes for strore bought commercial white flour. This is one reason why flour stored for long periods in a closed vessel develops what people call 'weevils' - the eggs become adult flour eating insects. Kind of like being born in your personal McDonald's.

There is a federally mandated maximum amount of roach allowed in alcohol beverages sold to the US public. It's not enforced very often.

 

[Mark44]

The main reason some people or groups do not eat "insects" is that they are too small, too hard to remove the exoskeleton to get to the good parts, too much trouble to separate the waste-matter from the good parts. Lobster and shrimp and craw-dads - they are just big insects. I would eat smaller insects, as long as they are cooked!

Strictly speaking, lobsters, crabs, shrimp, and similar aren't insects, as insects are hexapods (six legs) instead of the ten legs that crabs and lobsters have.

In addition to insects and other arthropods and crustaceans that are eaten, snails are considered a delicacy in French cuisine (I've eaten them a couple of times and enjoyed them), but for some reason, people don't ordinarily eat slugs, which are very prevalent where I live, and grow as large as 8 or 9 inches in size. I'm not sure why snails are different from slugs, other than slugs don't have a shell.

I've also enjoyed eating a lot of oysters (including many of them raw) and mussels and clams.

 

[jim mcnamara]

To be clear - not a maximum - it is a limit, an allowable maximum. That means some tiny amount is allowed, not required. Enforcement is to reject the whole lot - it gets used as animal food instead - when it exceeds the allowable.

BTW - in the US, all of those things are tested by the USDA. The DOD requires all food sold to the US military to be inspected and tightly enforced. Each branch of the military has its own labs and staff.

 

[dkotschessaa]

I'll eat almost anything (almost) that is battered and deep fried. Even mushrooms.

 

[DrClaude]

Although not an insect, I've eaten snails many times. I have also tasted some grilled crickets (small ones, about a cm long). I didn't find them wonderful, but not worse than some american "artificial" snacks.

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

I've also enjoyed eating a lot of oysters (including many of them raw) and mussels and clams.

Always reminds me of Bernie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

I think this is purely a mental issue. I really do not see why (on a pure technical level) it would be less disgusting to eat shrimp than insects. Both have several pairs of legs and an exoskeleton. Insects are also consumed in many cultures.

Interesting point. Shrimp are pretty gross looking! For me it's a texture issue. I've had seasoned crickets before and it was like eating popcorn, but I'd never eat a big juicy grub.

 

[Orodruin]

Interesting point. Shrimp are pretty gross looking! For me it's a texture issue. I've had seasoned crickets before and it was like eating popcorn, but I'd never eat a big juicy grub.

Interesting point, I don't like the texture of popcorn and they get stuck in your teeth ...

 

[BillTre]

Shrimp are pretty gross looking!

As someone who has worked on (and bred) decapod crustaceans (which include shrimp, lobsters, crayfish and crabs), I object.
I find them rather cute and interesting!

 

[symbolipoint]

Interesting point. Shrimp are pretty gross looking! For me it's a texture issue. I've had seasoned crickets before and it was like eating popcorn, but I'd never eat a big juicy grub.

Interesting point, I don't like the texture of popcorn and they get stuck in your teeth ...

Crickets are or would be far safer for your teeth than popcorn, which occasionally cause tooth breakage. Still, guessing that the skeleton pieces could get caught between teeth or tooth and gum just the way the pieces of popcorn do.