I love it when I come home from work and find money from fans post ideas in the mail. The other day I came home and found the latest issue of National Geographic.
National Geographic is cool, but normally I don’t get SHTF excited when it arrives – but what do I see inside? THIS:
Mmmmmmm – a one page article on bugs! “Don’t bug out,” the article states.
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization is working on a policy to promote insects as food worldwide. Turns out beetles, crickets, and many other types are rather nutritious. A serving of small grasshoppers, for instance, packs nearly the same protein punch as ground beef. And insects can be farmed more cheaply and on much less land.
How many people would pass up creepy crawly bugs if TEOTWAWKI hit? A lot. You know what bugs are? Easy eating. More:
As the global population nears seven billion, the FAO sees insect farming as a move toward food security – a subject for its upcoming conference on entomophagy, the practice of insect eating.
The UN is discussing food security …. there’s a reason for that ….
- Ranger Man
BTW: I wrote about Grub Worms Equal Good Grub When Good Times Go Bad back in 2008 …. and now the UN is promoting it? Coincidence?
*puts on tinfoil hat*
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{ 7 comments }
Haven’t tried one of the larger grub worms yet. I’ve had maggots and termites, if you prepare them like fried rice and mix in some seasoning they’re not bad at all. The hard part with maggots is not barfing while trying to harvest them from garbage or a carcass and getting past the “I know where this has been” mental block.
I’ve had grasshoppers raw, they suck. But I have seen where people fried grasshopper and dipped it in chocolate (Explorer club maybe?). The show “Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern” can really open your eyes to what people eat in other cultures, it’s a pretty neat show.
You can also make a few dollars here and there expanding your culinary horizons. Get a few of your friends drunk and start finding insects… “How much money would you pay me to eat this?”
Just like on that show, “the colony.” They had literally pounds of meat on those pigs, in the form of bugs. They don’t even bother. You could use that as bait or food for chickens if you don’t want to eat it yourself.
Too bad you can’t eat bedbugs, I’ve seen a ton of articles lately about how they’re making a comeback. Gross.
Hmmmm…. Why are bugs being promoted all of a sudden? Bugs as food sound gross right now, but if food were to go scarce, we may have to learn to make them appetizing somehow.
Here are some bugged out facts:
There are about 100 pounds of bugs per acre in Woodland environments and about 400 pounds per acre in a jungle environment.
Insects are about 80% protein and red meat is about 20% by weight.
If a bug is brightly colored (think bees) or hairy dont eat it. Ditto if it is out in the open and not running for cover. Most 6 legged bugs are safe to eat, most 8 legged bugs are not. Bright colors attract attention and bugs in the open do too. They probably have some nasty tricks of their…ummmm….wings? that you dont want to mess with.
Humans have for centuries and still do survive around the world with thier primary source of protein being….BUGS!
I have eaten numerous bugs as required as part of survival training and as supplimental diet in some tough spots. I find them best in a soup/stew type of dish. It kind of removes a little bit of the creepy crawly factor from your mind. Grasshoppers should not be eaten raw as they carry parasites (no bugs should be, boil or roast). Grasshoppers are best roasted. Grab them by the head, twist and pull the entrails out in one shot. Put them on a stick and BBQ them on an open flame to kill the little nasties. Scorpions are good eats too, just cut off the bulb/stinger on the tail and chow down.
Angry Mike, I’m not disputing your info but I’m curious as to your source(s) of information? Books, websites, multiple survival courses over the years or ???
Steelheart
All of the above