With the world in search of alternative food sources, the word Entomophagy is starting to appear all over the web.
So what is Entomophagy? Well, according to wikipedia
Entomophagy is the human consumption of insects as food
And in fact the word is derived from the Greek words for insects and to eat.
However, is it as simple as that?
A Broad Definition
The broader definition ofEntomophagy actually includes arthropods that are not insects such as some arachnids (spiders) and also myriapods (centipedes).
Who is Easting Insects?
Traditional Entomophagy – Eastern World
Even though the idea of eating insects is relatively unknown in the western world. they actually make up quite a significant portion of the rest of the world’s diets. And this is not a new phenomena, according to CISR:
Humans have harvested the eggs, larvae, pupae and adults of certain insect species from forests or other suitable habitats to eat for thousands of years.
And not only that, but over 80% of the world are eating a huge variety of insects as we speak, perhaps over 1000. So we as westerners are a little behind the times.
Modern Entomophagy – Western World
So the western world is playing catch up when it comes to eating insects, which is a little strange considering what we do actually eat (shrimp, snails, frogs legs etc).
It seems to be the awakening to the fact that we cannot continue to eat meat from farmed animals as our only source of protein. As the world’s population continues to grow and the demand for protein continues, insects are slowly making their way into foods on supermarket shelves.
However, the legislation regarding insect production is no where near ready for this kind of thing and huge changes coming perhaps in 2015 may open the doors to huge change in the Entomophagy industry.