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Loading...Could Eating Bugs Help Slow Climate Change?
No matter how much you like the taste of a hamburger it’s hard to argue with the fact that raising cattle for commercial consumption damages the environment and contributes to growing levels of greenhouse gases.
Scientists think that eating insects, a practice that’s common place in most developing nations, could be one way to ease food insecurity and slow the negative effects of climate change.
A recent study published in PLoS ONE found that in the future, “insects could serve as a more environmentally friendly alternative for the production of animal protein with respect to GHG and NH3 emissions.”
This means that from a climate standpoint, substituting a cockroach sandwich for that hamburger could be the best way to give both your body and the planet the nourishment that it needs.
According to the study’s lead author, an entomologist from Wageningen University in the Netherlands, 80 percent of the world’s population eats insects, yet they are shunned in the cuisine of most developed countries. (SciDev.net)
In order to compare the relative environmental impact of insects and cattle, scientists reared mealworms, locusts and crickets, all of which are consumed around the world, as well as sun beetles and cockroaches, which people do not eat, despite their potential as a protein source, while monitoring the amount of gas produced per kilogram of insect growth, according to SciDev’s Benjamin Kolb.
They found that insects had a higher relative growth rate and emitted comparable or lower amounts of GHG than described in literature for pigs and much lower amounts of GHG than cattle. The same was true for CO2 production per kg of metabolic weight and per kg of mass gain.
Nurturing insects, rather than livestock, as a source of protein could be an easy and affordable way to bolster the global food supply as well as reduce the amount of GHG emissions attributed to agriculture.
Related Reading:
Climate Change Refugees: Plants, Animals, And Insects
Would You Eat Bugs To Fight Climate Change?
Does Your Diet Cause Climate Change?
Read more: bugs, cattle, climate change, greenhouse gases, insects, livestock, meat, real food
Image Credit: Flickr - manbartlett
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may
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Recent Comments from Causes
Happy Towel Day everyone! Don't Panic!
Maybe we can force feed those chefs & sell their livers.......BAN FOIE GRAS EVERYWHERE!!
It is disgusting what we do to animals just for the sake of our palates.
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+ add your ownI've been to many countries and have tried them, sometimes they can make a good meal.
No thank you. I would rather not be around if and when it comes to this.
The presentation of that appetizer tray leaves a little to be desired. Maybe some decorative toothpicks and a little garnish?
Not in my menu!
you gotta be kidding.leave the bugs where they belong..outdoors!!!
thanks
I'm pretty sure I ate a bug when I was a little kid. I never did it intentionally (as a thinking knowledgeable person). I have seen television programs on eating insects in other cultures. I think there are some insects that I might (very little might) want to try (taste). I saw crickets prepared for a meal. I think they fried them. I guess I feel the same way about this as I do about meat. I don't eat raw meat and I wouldn't want to eat raw insects. I don't know. I guess there is the gross factor that I'm thinking of. I'm not sure what goes into cleaning the insects to prepare them to be used as food. I guess if the food source becomes so desolate that we have to seriously consider other sources of protein - to survive - I'll do what I need to do to survive.
I am a Christian and a bible student. I'm not one who claims to be a Christian that doesn't really know Jesus and the one who created him, Jehovah God. Because I have an accurate knowledge of the bible and I strive for more understanding - daily - I know that life is serious and that it is important that I take responsibility for the privilege of my life. Therefore I must take care of the body that I have. So if presented with dire circumstances - I will eat insects. I will also make certain that I eat them in the most healthy and nutritious way... so as to preserve my life.
My post is not said to offend anyone. I am only stating MY beliefs. I'm not trying to change anyone else's beliefs. As far as
No. Thank you.
I had to send a green star to Bill K for his observation that if BUGS ate more PEOPLE there would be a positive affect on the environment. That made me laugh and-sadly-agree!
Um. I guess if they chopped it up really fine and made it look like ground beef. Otherwise...?
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