Singapore has just greenlit 16 types of insects to eat as foods. Increasingly, curiosity seems to be nibbling away at the ‘yuck factor’ response
Grub’s up in Singapore where authorities have designated 16 creepy crawlies as safe for human consumption.
Locusts, five types of beetle grub and even a species of honeybee are among the minibeasts deemed good enough to eat, after a decision in July. The Singapore Food Agency has also greenlit imports of pasta, chocolate bars and crackers that contain insects as ingredients. One restaurant – House of Seafood – has added 30 insect dishes to its menu, ranging from sushi topped with silkworms to squid ink pasta sprinkled with house crickets.
“It’s good news,” says Nick Rousseau, founder of the UK Edible Insect Association. “Insects are amazing. We’re constantly looking to see how other countries are progressing in opening up the market for these potentially very valuable sources of nutrition, and that then gives us encouragement to think the UK might follow suit one day.”
Planet-friendly insect protein has long been touted as a sustainable alternative to western staples such as beef and chicken, and an answer to the growing conundrum of ensuring food security.
Producing a kilo of insect protein emits 1,800 times less greenhouse gases than beef and 700 times less than pork – but requires a fraction of the feedstock.
Insects are also highly edible: around 80% of their bodyweight can be scoffed, compared to 55% for chicken and pork, and just 40% for cattle.
More than 2,000 insect species are being eaten across 128 countries, with the UN among the bodies plugging bugs as a sustainable way to get quality protein into our diets
“Insect protein is very similar to animal protein in that it has all the amino acids, lots of antioxidants, lots of micronutrients, and is a better source of nutrition than a lot of plant-based protein,” says Rousseau.
“But insects can also be fed on waste, they have a much smaller environmental footprint, so they don’t use as nearly as much water or land, and they don’t emit methane in the way lots of livestock does.”
One study published earlier this year identified 2,205 insect species – almost half of them in Asia – that are being eaten across 128 countries worldwide. Meanwhile the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization is plugging bugs as a sustainable way to get quality protein in our diets.
Producing a kilo of insect protein emits 1,800 times less greenhouse gases than beef and 700 times less than pork – but requires a fraction of the feedstock
In the UK, just four insect species – including two types of cricket – can currently be sold as food. The growing buzz around edible insects has already prompted one British producer, Yum Bug, to open a restaurant in Finsbury Park, north London, featuring dishes such as cricket mince Welsh rarebit and roasted cricket onion bhajis. Leo Taylor, company CEO and co-founder, told Positive News that the restaurant has been “going incredibly”, attracting a waiting list of more than 1,500 people on opening, not to mention lots of press coverage.
Rousseau says bureaucracy in western markets like the UK is still frustrating efforts to get more insect species approved for eating, and to broaden their range of applications, for example, as animal feed.
However taste tests are gradually nibbling away at what Rousseau calls the ‘yuck factor’. “People are just curious,” he says. “I do tastings quite regularly: people want a chance to experience this and to decide for themselves. And time and again, they come back and say: ‘Well, that was great. I can’t stop eating them. I love them’.”
Diners at Yum Bug’s restaurant in north London, which attracted a waiting list of more than 1,500 people on opening
Bug grub’s up! Today’s specials are …
Hop over to Yum Bug’s website (for some bug-based recipe ideas.)
• How about kicking off with some buffalo worm and sweetcorn fritters, with a side of Asian slaw and gochujang dressing?
• For the main course, take a cross-continental leap to Italy for a twisted take on the classic carbonara – with crunchy crickets in place of bacon.
• And for dessert, currently on the menu in Yum Bug’s London restaurant is their Williams pear, chocolate, Thai tea and cricket crumble.
Main image: Yum Bug cricket meatball with croutons and kale salad. All images courtesy of Yum Bug
Be part of the solution
Positive News is helping more people than ever to get a balanced and uplifting view of the world. While doom and gloom dominates other news outlets, our solutions journalism exists to support your wellbeing and empower you to make a difference towards a better future.
But our reporting has a cost and, as an independent, not-for-profit media organisation, we rely on the financial backing of our readers. If you value what we do and can afford to, please get behind our team with a regular or one-off contribution.
Give once from just £1, or join 1,400+ others who contribute an average of £3 or more per month. You’ll be directly funding the production and sharing of our stories – helping our solutions journalism to benefit many more people.
Join our community today, and together, we’ll change the news for good.
