Would you like bugs for dinner?

Today I received a very interesting delivery, all the way from Thailand. It’s pasta, but with a special extra added ingredient: insects. Crickets, to be exact, in the form of flour used to make up 20 per cent of the pasta. The brand is ‘bugsolutely’. I can’t wait to try it.

Eating insects is something that turns a lot of people off. You may even find the idea revolting. But for many cultures around the world, eating bugs is a fairly normal thing. And science is seriously looking at the potential for insects to be an important protein source in the future.

The United Nations noted their potential in a report in 2013 – saying they have huge potential as food for humans and livestock.

Research also suggests insects are nutritionally as good as, or better than, other proteins such as chicken and red meat. And the environmental impact of producing insect protein is significantly less than that of other animals.

So, who knows, maybe ‘cricket farmer’ will be a profession our kids will aspire to in the future.

In the meantime, I’m off to enjoy my Buglonaise! I’ll report back!