Future Protein Alternative

[foodfutures]

Hello Mums,

I am a student doing research around the future of food alternatives.

Insects as an alternative protein resource is considered a serious way to combat future food insecurity by the UN. And it is considered absolutely safe to consume (unless you have an allergy to crustaceans). A lot of people around the world, including parts of Asia and Central America, consume insects on a regular basis.

> > Would you consider giving your children food that contains insects?

[TheSpottedZebra]

Hi there, I wouldn't personally eat it ad I am vegetarian. Nor would I give it to my children as
a) I am veggie and they are about 60%,
b) I probably find it a bit icky
c) I'd want to know how they were farmed, fed, killed etc
d) I'd probably hang back a bit to ensure safety

HOWEVER I genuinely belive that we will start to see insect food as 'normal' in the western world, and that the change will be driven by migrants and people who've eaten insects abroad. Then some fitness or wellness fad will popularise insects but with a slightly more acceptable name - eg land prawns for bodybuilders or some such. Then there'll be a publicity campaign funded by a producer, and chefs will be incentivesed to cook with, and talk about, insect protein. It will happen!

Good luck with your project.

[Shallishanti]

no, I wouldn't either as am also vegetarian
Id guess that in order for it to be acceptable in the west it would have to be processed into burgers or similar which would add another layer of energy consumption/additives etc
I would dispute that this is a solution to food insecurity, this I feel would be better addressed through better distribution/less waste and less reliance on meat/dairy worldwide, especially in the west but stopping the trend in that direction in eg China and India.
I can imagine it being a minority trend here as pp outlined but not really gaining much ground. It would be like quinoa. Who really eats quinoa? Even I don't and I like tofu.

[Shallishanti]

and wrt to my children (they are all adult) I always fed them what I ate myself, so no, I wouldn't have given it to them.

[Lovepancakes]

I would prefer to stick to beans and chickpeas and lentils which I use to cut down on meat. I'm going to try chickpeas roasted with a lot of cumin. I don't think people adapt that easily to a 'scary sounding ' new food but I may be wrong. I was once dared to eat an ant and it was peppery and I didn't like it.