Could insects replace meat?

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Could Insects Replace Meat?

Thanks for asking. Although it's quite usual to find insects in markets in both Africa and Asia, it's rather more unusual for people in the West to eat them. However, with increased awareness of animal welfare and environmental concerns around eating meat, people are beginning to think more seriously about insects as food rather than something to be swatted.

But how do you get over the Ick factor of eating bugs? The problem is that a lot of people find eating bugs pretty off-putting. But now scientists have discovered that mealworms, traditionally used as pet food or as bait for fishing, have a rather meat-like flavour when cooked with sugar and could maybe offer new hope in the insects-as-food debate. What are the benefits of eating insects? Insects offer not only a high-protein, nutrient-rich alternative to meat, but they are a lot less polluting. They can thrive in most environments and, unlike animals, insects like being crowded in together. With insects, we can farm them intensively without compromising their welfare. They're actually happier when they're close to many other insects of the same species. Says entomologist, Dr Sarah Baynon, when interviewed by The Guardian.

Food precarity is also a very real problem around the world, and insects can offer an excellent solution. Ironically, just as the West are perhaps waking up to the benefits of eating insects, their populations are being increasingly threatened by climate change and loss of habitat. Could it be that by farming insects, we might even save them? What are the disadvantages of eating meat? There is a huge benefit to the planet in reducing our consumption of meat and dairy. Grazing and feeding livestock consumes 80% of the earth's farmland, causing deforestation and loss of biodiversity. The meat industry also needs a lot of water. It takes 112 litres of water to produce a single gram of beef, but less than 23 litres for a gram of insect protein. And not only does producing meat take a lot of water, it can also be very polluting, both to local waterways and of course to the air with emissions. So will we be seeing insects in supermarkets soon? Well, actually, they're already there, at least for pets. Lovebug is an insect-based cat food for cat owners who love their cat and the planet. But as for people, that is a different matter. Although there have already been experiments in introducing insects into UK supermarkets, EatGrub, whose whole insects appeared in Sainsbury's in 2018, it didn't last long. People are not ready to eat insects just yet. But let's not rule it out. 50 years ago, eating raw fish would have seemed quite repulsive to a lot of people. But now sushi is a booming market. So maybe one day, you and your cat will be able to enjoy a nice bowl of insects. There you have it.

Now you know if insects could replace meat. In under three minutes, we answer your questions and help you understand the true meaning behind the trends, concepts and acronyms that are making headlines. Listen along and you really will know for sure.