Guest essay by Eric Worrall
h/t Breitbart; European taxpayer’s money is once again being spent on promoting ultra-processed food insect protein meat substitutes, to save the world from climate change.
Are Europeans ready for an insect-based diet?
By Florence Schulz | EURACTIV.de | translated by Daniel Eck
While insect-based foods have so far been a niche product, they are viewed as a highly promising solution to the challenges facing the food industry. Although new EU regulations should pave the way for these products, European eating habits will have to change too. EURACTIV Germany reports.
Since the start of 2019, customers of the German supermarket chain Kaufland have had the choice between garlic and herb flavoured mealworms, or buffalo worms with hints of sour cream and onion.
And foods made from insects, such as chocolate bars, granola, pasta or burgers, are also appearing in other major supermarkets all over Europe.
“Customers who buy insect-based foods are primarily looking for a new eating experience. Our task is to translate this into products that fit our normal eating habits,” said Bastien Rabastens, founder of French company Jimini’s, which supplies Kaufland.
Rabastens’ biggest challenge is what the industry calls the “yuck factor”.
…
By 2030, every person will eat an average of 10% more meat than in 2015, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
The rising consumption of meat represents a massive environmental burden – not only because of the methane emissions coming from billions of animals but also because producing their animal feed requires a lot of land and water, which in turn would be lacking for the production of food for humans.
…
Read more: https://www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/news/are-europeans-ready-for-an-insect-based-diet/
This persistent effort to put insanely processed insect protein on everyone’s plate, in the name of healthy eating and saving the planet, reminds me of the time pop tarts made it to the top of the health food chart. When your chain of food value logic leads to absurdity, sometimes it is worth pausing to ask how you got there.
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I am afraid my opinion of these Experts and U.N minions is now so low,I advocate for the bugs.
Staking such useless powerhungry parasites out on an anthill springs to mind.
Save the bugs,feed them UN staffers.And all other “Liberals Style” progressive thieves..
This is the problem with studying the evil and stupid,you become what you resist.
Mmmmm MMM! Dung beetles are sooooo sustainable!
so crucial for soil health and if thers no cows around?
no beetles aurating n moving soil n nutrients
bet they didnt even think about that.
the REAL REASON for the EU push is the food makers
why?
because the profits for bugs are insane per unit produced and they eat?
rubbish/food byproducts they cant even onsell to the supplement or otherindustries
or its used BY those industries and then fed to bugs gaining 3x the value extracted.
and then there isnt going to BE room for animals or plants as they need all the room for solar farms and wind turbines.
the recent insanity of “grain free” foods espeialy forpets is actually harming them multiple cases of vets reporting Cardiomyopathy in young dogs FROM the processed PEAflour theyre putting in pet foods and cat foods tinned n dry as well.
supercheap denatured tasteless colourless crap at 00001c or so rather than a cent or so for real grains.
its all about profit.
Ah the rewilding element of global warming environmentals rearing there very unpalatable fix for us all, let them eat bugs I will continue to eat meat be it red or white.
And land productivity is increasing at a 2.5% per year. Far more than population is increasing, which allows us to eat steak (med-rare please) in quantity, while still allowing for more land to be left fallow for nature reserves. Just allow modern techniques in more places will allow even more food per acre and more calories per person of higher grade food like meats.
Have China have more livestock and less nature foods and will have a much lower vector for diseases because we aren’t living with our food like Europeans used to 200 years ago. Was a big change for the west and will be a big change for China. And we won’t need to eat bugs…ever – well…only if you like to.
That’s not a bug, it’s a feature.
id rather eat the patch(vegie patch)
If the EU bureaucrats saying to eat cockroaches and grubs.
Isn’t that tantamount to advocating cannibalism ?
Send my share to the bug deprive EeeeUuuuu, Please!
And don’t bug me again!
Plant have more than enough protein, and are healthier too. Absolutely no need to invent a wheel.
Heading the article with a photo of grilled Witchetty grubs will do quite a bit to put people off the idea of eating insects. Fried Grasshoppers are a better marketing option. Nevertheless, Australia stands ready to flood the World Market with Wichetty grubs at the slightest sign of general interest.
We mustn’t eat insects! They are disappearing too rapidly as it is.
https://e360.yale.edu/features/insect_numbers_declining_why_it_matters
Beyond Meat Burger ingredients:
Water
Pea protein isolate
Expeller-pressed canola oil
Refined coconut oil
Cellulose from bamboo
Methylcellulose
Potato starch
Natural flavor
Maltodextrin
Yeast extract
Salt
Sunflower oil
Vegetable glycerin
Dried yeast
Gum arabic
Citrus extract (to protect quality)
Ascorbic acid (to maintain color)
Beet juice extract (for color)
Acetic acid
Succinic acid
Modified food starch
Annatto (for color)
Beef Burger ingredients:
Beef
Be fair, I sometimes add salt, onion, egg and bread crumbs to beef patties…
Bread crumbs? No, OATMEAL.
I am all for this provided that EU officials are required to follow this diet completely themselves. After they have lived on insects for at least a year, then those tax stealing morons at the EU can tell the rest of us how to live. I suspect this is not going to go down well!
This really bugs me, is their a secret sauce for locust, how do we know they’re Non Gmo?, do we need a grub rub for more palatability? or do you eat mashed slugs with a side of fly fries? For the bug converted please use a breath freshener to chase down the dung beetles. On the upside I think one large grub would fill me up and excess flab would soon be a fond memory.
Yet another ‘we know what’s best for you’ crock of s**t from the EU.
I am sure there are plenty of other geographies where similar nutters exist.
I really do wonder how these ignorant ecofascists wonder that nature will replenish soil, when cows are no longer sh**ting their black gold in such great numbers?
notice they still cant find a use for millipedes and earwigs;-)))
making them palatable for chooks/anything at all really, (millipedes) would be a gamechanger
It’s great. It should be used as swine feed. Bacon (with eggs) is the greatest meal on the planet.
Now, if only we could keep the vegans occupied convincing them to hand pick the bugs…just sayin’.
Show us the eastern EU country responses or non-responses to EU absurdities. We need that perspective here.
I’m sure these are already the only thing on the menu in Brussels. They know what’s best for you, but I’m gonna bet that steak is better for them.
Speaking of Brussels and sprouts it’s bad news I’m afraid for the vege munchers-
https://www.msn.com/en-au/health/nutrition/you-should-probably-never-eat-sprouts/ar-BB10upyC
Throw another Moreton Bay Bug on the barbie instead-
https://www.australiantropicalfoods.com/index.php/australian-seafood/moreton-bay-bug/
Sick
We can talk about lab scale testing of bugs for food, but like “green energy,” the proponents never do the math. I cannot imagine the effort, cost and environmental impacts to scale up bug production to a level to reliably feed a population. To produce the needed calories, the processes would still require massive inputs of water, nutrients, energy, etc. The industrialized bug production system would end up facing the same criticisms as those leveled at meat production. Of course, it may allow us to shift some production from farms to city sewers, breeding grounds for (edible?) cockroaches and other critters. Need lunch? Just pop open a manhole cover and feast. Instead of farm-to-table, it would be sewer-to-table.
I don’t see any problem here. I’m sure everyone has heard the old saying: “Insects is best.”
Eat bugs.
Catch the new COVID.
No thanks. I’m allergic to crustaceans. I’d prefer the cow over the cricket, please.