Why all the buzz on eating bugs? Protein

No dessert until you finish your dragonflies!

Eating more insects could help combat world hunger, says a new report from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

In North America insects are generally considered to be more of a curse than a course, yet bugs are consumed regularly by about 30 per cent of the world’s almost 7 billion people.

The report lists a number of reasons for considering entomophagy:

• Insects are highly nutritious (with high protein, fat and mineral content).
• They are "extremely efficient" at turning feed into edible meat. For example, crickets require 12 times less feed than cattle to produce the same amount of protein (see chart on p. 60 of report).
• Insect rearing produces far less greenhouse gases and lower ammonia emissions than other livestock (see charts on p. 63 of report).

Will you be adding bugs to your next meal? If you’re willing to give it a try, check out the Florida Pest Control website—they have recipes for termite salsa, meal worm funnel cake, roasted grasshopper casserole ... and more!