Save the Planet: Eat Bugs

Switching from beef to protein-packed bugs could help combat climate change
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted May 31, 2008 9:06 AM CDT
Save the Planet: Eat Bugs
German cockroaches have an efficiency of conversion of ingested food to body substance over four times that of cows.   ((c) themonnie)

Chowing down on creepy-crawlies is a concept that's likely to nauseate most Americans, but insect eats may be the way of the future, Time reports. The critters are rich in protein and far more efficient to raise than cows or pigs, making them a possible solution to the problem of feeding an increasingly crowded and hungry planet.

Dishes like grasshopper gumbo and pasta with crickets may not be crawling onto the menu at your local restaurant any time soon, but backers of bug cuisine say switching from cattle to insect ranching would dramatically lower the world's carbon emissions. With climate change having the potential to collapse the food supply, we may all need to acquire a taste for the small fry. (More food stories.)

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