How to Farm Insects at Home. Hotlix is known primarily for its lollipops and other candy containing scorpions, crickets, or worms — the type of novelty treats you’d find in a gift shop on a pier. Though the products might seem a bit silly, the company is quite serious about its insects. “We process them here, to make sure nothing like bacteria gets on them,” says Hotlix owner Larry Peterman. He also manages the farming of the live animals. “We make sure ours are raised well. In other words, they haven’t had anything bad to eat.” Though Peterman has always used this careful methodology with his food products, it’s only in the past month or so that restaurants and other food companies around the world have been coming to Peterman for advice and orders: the tiny Grover Beach, California company’s latest shipment of non-candied insects was sent to England.
This increase in interest is tied directly to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ 2013 report focusing on edible insects. Insect farming. Raising and breeding insects as livestock Insect farming is the practice of raising and breeding insects as livestock, also referred to as minilivestock or micro stock. Insects may be farmed for the commodities they produce (like silk, honey, lac or insect tea), or for them themselves; to be used as food, as feed, as a dye, and otherwise. Farming of popular insects[edit] Silkworms[edit] Silkworms, the caterpillars of the domestic silkmoth, are kept to produce silk, an elastic fiber made when they are in the process of creating a cocoon.
Mealworms[edit] The mealworm (Tenebrio molitor L.) is the larvae form of a species of darkling beetles (Coleoptera). Buffaloworms[edit] Buffaloworms, also called lesser mealworms, is the common name of Alphitobius diaperinus. Honeybees[edit] Lac insects[edit] Lac insects secrete a resinous substance called lac. Cochineal[edit] Made into a red dye known as carmine, cochineal are incorporated into many products, including cosmetics, food, paint, and fabric. [edit] FARM 432 : INSECT BREEDING. A Kit To Grow Bugs At Home, To Eat! As the population grows, so, too, will its hunger for meat. By 2050, meat production will need to surge by 50% to quell demand. The only problem is, producing so much (red) meat is already an environmental nightmare.
And we simply might not have the resources to scale. Meanwhile, Katharina Unger is planning to invite her friends over to an insect barbecue. (Really.) “Black soldier flies themselves do not eat, they just drink. Over their eight-day lifecycle, soldier flies need space to fly around, mate, and lay eggs. “There they feed on biowaste or whatever you feed them on and wriggle around for around 14 days,” Unger explains.
From here, it’s bon appetit. “With my design I am proposing a new lifestyle,” she says. Read more here. [Hat tip: Tuvie] For Most People, Eating Bugs Is Only Natural. In Ghana during the spring rains, winged termites are collected and fried, roasted, or made into bread. In South Africa the insects are eaten with cornmeal porridge. In China beekeepers are considered virile, because they regularly eat larvae from their beehives. Gourmands in Japan savor aquatic fly larvae sautéed in sugar and soy sauce. De-winged dragonflies boiled in coconut milk with ginger and garlic are a delicacy in Bali. Grubs are savored in New Guinea and aboriginal Australia.
In Latin America cicadas, fire-roasted tarantulas, and ants are prevalent in traditional dishes. One of the most famous culinary insects, the agave worm, is eaten on tortillas and placed in bottles of mezcal liquor in Mexico. Cultural Choices But despite its long tradition—and current favor among at least half of the world's peoples—eating insects is still rare, not to mention taboo, in the United States and Europe.
"Eco Protein" Hamburger, for example, is roughly 18 percent protein and 18 percent fat. Infographic: Why Insects Are the Most Eco-Friendly Meat - Daniel Fromson. The September issue of The Atlantic is live—and with it my piece on how the Netherlands is hoping to convince the world to eat mealworms and locusts. Entomophagy, as insect-eating is officially known, is actually being taken seriously these days by a hardcore group of enthusiasts and scientists around the world (coincidentally, The New Yorker also published an article on the phenomenon this week, although it focused more on fancy insect gastronomy in the U.S., as opposed to the processed insect-containing snacks invented by the Dutch).
What's causing the bug boom? One big reason: as this infographic shows, insects are far more environmentally friendly than conventional meat, an advantage advocates love to flaunt. Enjoy ... and then decide whether you'll enjoy some grasshoppers. Image: Food Service Warehouse. Infographic: Why Insects Are the Most Eco-Friendly Meat - Daniel Fromson. Entomophagy. Entomophagy (/ˌɛntəˈmɒfədʒi/, from Greek ἔντομον éntomon, "insect", and φᾰγεῖν phagein, "to eat") is the human use of insects as food. The eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults of certain insects have been eaten by humans from prehistoric times to the present day.[1] Human insect-eating is common to cultures in most parts of the world, including North, Central, and South America; and Africa, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.
Over 1,000 species of insects are known to be eaten in 80% of the world's nations.[2] The total number of ethnic groups recorded to practice entomophagy is around 3,000.[3] However, in some societies insect-eating is uncommon or even taboo.[4][5][6][7][8] Today insect eating is rare in the developed world, but insects remain a popular food in many regions of Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Definition[edit] Mealworms presented in a bowl for human consumption In non-humans[edit] History[edit] Uses[edit] Traditional cultures[edit] Western culture[edit] Crickets[edit] Bugs Have More Protein Than Beef? Health Benefits of Eating Insects | Turntags How to do. Agricultural Research Service. Www.girlmeetsbug.com. Green Guru: Eating Bugs. Insects are an eco-friendly meat alternative. By Susan Cosier Published: July-August 2012 Are there environmental or health benefits to eating bugs? Andy Greenberg, Brooklyn, NY Wriggling larvae and jumping crickets--baked or pan-fried--are the key to our survival, some entomologists actually argue.
From an environmental perspective, it's clear why we should be consuming bugs, says Marcel Dicke, a Dutch entomologist who has been studying the benefits of eating insects--a practice called entomophagy--for the past 15 years. The earth's human population will swell from seven billion to nine billion by 2050. Some adventurous entrepreneurs are trying to popularize insect-based foodstuffs. Send recipes or other questions to greenguru@audubon.org. Recipes from David George Gordon, bug chef and author of Eat-A-Bug Cookbook Sheesh! Yield: Six servings Ingredients 1/2 cup lemon juice 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 teaspoon honey 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1/4 teaspoon salt.