Are You Going to Eat The Bugs?

SlavOz on 01/08/2022 - 00:32
Last edited 01/08/2022 - 14:14 by 1 other user

Seems obvious that the global order wants us to ditch meat and turn to crickets and other tasty crawlers as an environemtly-friendly solution to greenhouse gasses.

With environmentalism picking up and food shortages already evident, I think we're heading for a point where they will try turning crickets into the new vaccine - anyone who doesn't chow down the new menu and express how grateful they are will be brandished selfish, brainwashed, irresponsible etc. In other words, the plate will be political. Eating the crickets will give some a renewed sense of purpose or meaning, yet there will always be those who resist for whatever reason, and I sense this will be the next big issue that divides us in the future.

That's just my theory though. You are entitled to think more optimistically than I am.

So, where do you stand?

Poll Options

  • 257
    I will NEVER eat bugs or give up meat no matter what
  • 115
    I will switch to bugs if someone makes a compelling argument or it becomes popular
  • 42
    I am open to switching but still undecided
  • 86
    I have already started eating bugs
  • 79
    Meat will be available forever and this will never happen
Food & Grocery

Comments

  • DiscoJango on 01/08/2022 - 18:47
    +1

    the McCricket has a nice ring to it

  • whatgift on 01/08/2022 - 20:00
    +2

    Too bad there was no poll option for: “this post is a waste of my time and energy even engaging in”.

    • SlavOz on 01/08/2022 - 20:03
      -1

      Yea there was - not posting.

      You chose not to take that option.

      • 2025 on 01/08/2022 - 20:57

        He wanted to be involved in society despite his choices. What’s wrong with that?

  • lord henry on 01/08/2022 - 20:12
    +1

    I was eating bugs a decade ago at Kylie Kwong’s restaurant.
    If prepared properly they are delicious.

  • FlyingMiffy on 01/08/2022 - 20:19
    +1

    Humans ate bugs long before meat was farmed the way it is today. The problem is not about its merit as a food source (the human body doesn't distinguish where it gets its protein and vitamins from…), but whether modern society deems it "suitable". Have tried lots of exotic foods before and when made by a expert, you won't know you ate it until they tell you - and then there is always deep fried for the everyday folks.

  • Wasabi Ninja on 01/08/2022 - 20:50
    -1

    Who cares?
    I’ll eat meat until I die. It’s not going to become scarce in my lifetime.
    Saving the world through veganism is a Caucasian religion. Caucasians make up 15% if the world population. And less than 1% are vegans.

    • SlavOz on 01/08/2022 - 21:04

      Its already somewhat scarce and most of the policies and restrictions haven't even kicked in yet. Unless you're 75, I think you'll live to see the day of people eating spiders like good citizens while the irresponsible grandma killers enjoy their steaks in secret.

      Most people would not have predicted they would experience human rights abuses in Australia in their lifetime, alas the last 2 years really opened our eyes.

      • Wasabi Ninja on 02/08/2022 - 00:32
        -2

        Nah, I’m only 39. My family trust says I’ll always be able to eat steak.

  • meong on 01/08/2022 - 21:19
    +1

    OP you will need to add another poll option: if its tasty why not?

  • RocketSwitch on 01/08/2022 - 21:27
    +3

    We know little about how they might affect our bodies in terms of allergens. Many insect farms in Asia don’t have hygienic standards. They have also found that insects can carry parasites that are harmful, even deadly (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28007452).

    In the early 1950s, they found that an intestinal “fluke,” or an infestation of harmful bacteria, which they had gotten from consuming dragonflies had infected many people living in Malaysia. They need more research before we know for sure how safe it is to introduce insects as a dietary staple.

    Insects also have anti-nutrients. We still know little about the levels of anti-nutrient substances in insects. They need more research to find out whether they are significant.

    We can’t ignore the fact that the use of pesticides in producing edible insects is unregulated.

    Bees and certain kinds of ants carry toxins inside of them in order to ward off predators. Those same toxins can be dangerous if you eat them. Some kinds of beetles carry a metabolic steroid which can cause growth retardation, infertility, or female masculinization if consumed too frequently.

    As you can see, just like the experimental gene-therapy that didn't work, we have the same idiots thinking they know it all before humanity has done the research.

    • Thorn69 on 01/08/2022 - 22:45

      shhhhh your talking common sense, people get down-voted for that

  • belongsinforums on 01/08/2022 - 22:03
    +2

    Bugs would go well with your Kool-Aid

  • Thorn69 on 01/08/2022 - 22:43

    honestly i would resort to canabalisim and risk prion disease then eat insects……………………………dont get me wrong if anyone wants to eat the bug by allmeans go for it leave me and my beef,pork,poultry, wild meats alone
    nothing is more destructive as mono cropping except politicians trying to look like they are helping us

  • superuser on 01/08/2022 - 23:00
    -1

    I'll eat whatever available when I'm hungry, dog (profanity) cat, snake, bugs, …how come pu,ssy is profanity?

    • 2025 on 01/08/2022 - 23:45

      Not sure, but doesn’t it mean the same as (profanity) and (profanity) in this context?

      • Fobsessive on 02/08/2022 - 00:43

        profanity

        • 2025 on 02/08/2022 - 09:08

          (profanity)

  • Empharand on 01/08/2022 - 23:51

    So I guess the question to most stubborn carnivores is, in 20 years when meat becomes a delicacy and is likely 4x the price it is now, would you rather eat plant-based meat or bugs?

    • SlavOz on 02/08/2022 - 09:00

      I will. I'll give up my iPhone and Netflix to save money so I can buy meat, if I have to.

      Is there anything that would make you (financial or otherwise) give up on the spiders?

      • SBOB on 02/08/2022 - 09:39

        give up on the spiders

        Spiders aren't 'bugs'…

        • SlavOz on 02/08/2022 - 10:41
          -1

          I'm assuming that's SBOB commenting above. Damn Ozbargain's block feature is amazing, I didn't even see you there :D

          • SBOB on 02/08/2022 - 12:23

            @SlavOz: Thats ok.
            Highlighting the lack of 'facts' in your content generally hasn't lead to any benefit or change in your behavior so far, so not sure why you think I would care if you saw them or not.

          • whatwasherproblem on 02/08/2022 - 14:40
            +2

            @SlavOz:

            Damn Ozbargain's block feature is amazing

            Blocking people is lame, dude. I don't agree with a lot of what SBOB says either but hiding from words on a screen is some next-level (profanity).

            • SlavOz on 02/08/2022 - 14:47

              @whatwasherproblem: He drove me to insanity, I'm ashamed to say. He just stands opposite of whatever I say, says something stupid, then runs away when he gets asked to justify his view. He's just a troll. Proof: right now he's desperate to quote that last sentence and be like "ohz t3H irony!"

              • SBOB on 02/08/2022 - 15:16
                +3

                @SlavOz:

                He just stands opposite of whatever I say,

                not true. I agreed with your stance for equality in another thread just the other day :)

                And not sure if you haven't noticed, but….looks left…looks right….. I don't think I'm alone in pointing out the flaws or complete lack of sanity in many of your opinion pieces.

              • smartazz104 on 03/08/2022 - 07:23

                @SlavOz:

                He's just a troll

                Oh boy…

  • Freestyle on 02/08/2022 - 00:07
    +4

    freaking spoilt brats living in a 1st world country think they know what food shortages look like

    f**k off

    • franco cozzo on 03/08/2022 - 09:58

      enough with the virtue signalling BS, already

  • 91rs on 02/08/2022 - 00:39
    +2

    The obvious concerns are the lack of any real honest reporting on so many fronts of this problem. Great way to try and make those concerns seem illegitimate so people can talk down to others who are watching what's going on.
    We have moved away from what Australia was where you could discuss things with others and not agree and that was often OK, we're too much like the USA now where you have one view or you're wrong. Those things can't be said or face the consequences.

    All those American food processing plant fires, just one after another after another, governments trying to hit made up percentages to appear "green" which then directly impacts farming and food supplies, the USA's proxy war with Russia via Ukraine where now if covid isn't to blame for high prices and sh!t service its the war in Ukraine \ Russia's fault.
    People with their heads firmly up their own arses who think that none of this is coordinated to force decisions and push people to the brink of their finances so they have to give up on the life they have lead until now.

    How the WEF just walked in and started to change things under the cover of COVID without anyone's involvement is amazing, very well orchestrated. Fear not though, they won't be subject to eating the bugs or any other changes to their lifestyles they're pushing on the rest of us.

    • [Deactivated] on 02/08/2022 - 11:29

      This is not the work of the WEF.

      If you know anything about insurance fraud, you will know during times of hardship people will start burning down their businesses.

      The history is there, but some people like yourself are rewriting it in favour of creating a more angry world…

    • whatwasherproblem on 02/08/2022 - 14:43
      +1

      the USA's proxy war with Russia via Ukraine where now if covid isn't to blame for high prices and sh!t service its the war in Ukraine \ Russia's fault.

      To the US's credit, not even the most diehard lefties are buying the "Putin price hike" nonsense that the puppet-in-chief is putting out over there.

    • franco cozzo on 03/08/2022 - 10:00

      well posted!

  • Fobsessive on 02/08/2022 - 00:42

    na

  • doubleclutching on 02/08/2022 - 02:57

    I'd rather just become a vegetarian than eat bugs.

    • franco cozzo on 03/08/2022 - 10:00

      lab grown meat doesnt sound appealing?

  • jaypee06 on 02/08/2022 - 09:49

    I'm a bit of a backyard entomologist in that I find insects and spiders truly fascinating. I don't think I could bring myself to eat one though - even something as simple as a withcetty grub or a deep-fried cricket.

    Maybe if it was crushed into a powder and discreetly added to my food.

  • idonotknowwhy on 02/08/2022 - 10:13

    Nah, I only eat vegans

  • ChatCPT on 02/08/2022 - 11:44

    one more option
    - eat vegetables??

    • franco cozzo on 03/08/2022 - 10:01

      have you seen the price of veggies…also a luxury item now!!

      • ChatCPT on 03/08/2022 - 17:40

        haha true. i forgot because we have a garden full of veg + work buys food

  • ribze1 on 02/08/2022 - 11:46

    Cevapi made out of insects sounds good to me.

    • SlavOz on 02/08/2022 - 12:31

      Blasphemer!

      At least you spelled it right.

    • franco cozzo on 03/08/2022 - 10:01

      take that back you heathen!

  • pulpfiction on 02/08/2022 - 11:58
    +1

    Beer and fried crickets will change your life.

  • dontboopthesnoot on 02/08/2022 - 12:04

    i think some will and some wont like most new things that come i.e. internet, smartphones, social media etc

  • Hahuh on 02/08/2022 - 14:00
    +1

    Religious reasons: No
    Personal reasons: No

  • try2bhelpful on 02/08/2022 - 18:24

    I’m sick of feeding this troll.

    • SlavOz on 02/08/2022 - 18:32

      Feeding me bugs?

  • bigbadboogieman on 02/08/2022 - 19:11

    Only if they start making Kosher Crickets.

  • Cheapsize on 02/08/2022 - 19:12

    Once there was a gelato cart in Melbourne giving away gelato with various insects blended into it (it was a promotion for the Economist magazine and we knew there were insects in the gelato).

    Out of everything the ants were pretty tasty.

    Anything else is super weird tasting and had an awful texture.

  • twjr on 02/08/2022 - 20:06

    I ate plenty of crickets during an OE in Mexico. Fried up and then flavoured with chilli, lime and salt they are pretty good. Nice crunchy texture and subtle nutty flavour. But they were a protein snack like nuts, not a staple as far as I could tell. I'd be happy to eat them here if they were priced sensibly.

  • sintro on 02/08/2022 - 21:24
    +3

    Just another fad to sell you new stuff and change your behaviour, don't fall for it.

    It has been on the World Economic Forum agenda since 2018: https://twitter.com/wef/status/1051389674277797888
    Good grub: why we might be eating insects soon Jul 16, 2018
    https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/07/good-grub-why-we-migh…

    Why we need to give insects the role they deserve in our food systems Jul 12, 2021
    https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/07/why-we-need-to-give-i…

    "All Things Bugs said that it is a Grand Challenges Explorations winner, an initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. All Things Bugs develops insect-derived technologies for applications in food, farm and pharma."
    https://allthingsbugs.com/news/company-gets-grant-to-develop…

    Klaus Schwab, Bill Gates and the like can eat all the bugs if they want.
    They'll definitely be promoting it more and more, creating products for more uptake…

    Try snacks that contain crickets at a premium price!
    https://www.actuallyfoods.com/products/cheddar-jalapeno-puff…

    But Remember, Don't Eat Ze BugZ!

    • franco cozzo on 03/08/2022 - 09:55
      +1

      you will live in ze pod eat ze bugs and give up your vehicles…and this is just the start of building back better!

    • whatwasherproblem on 04/08/2022 - 17:17
      +1

      Klaus Schwab, Bill Gates and the like can eat all the bugs if they want.

      Bill Gates has been buying up farmland left and right. He will literally never eat any bugs.

  • Dack Smith on 03/08/2022 - 02:11

    I wonder if people will keep eating bats and other wildlife so as to cause another outbreak for fun.

    Bugs too, the creamy liquid texture of the bug abdominal content is like caviar to the greenies and the wild men.

    One Wuhan not enough, need to spread many more variants of the Wuhan virus to enrich human life for the future.

    SlaveOz special brand of Soylent Wuhan Bug

  • EightImmortals on 03/08/2022 - 06:29

    Well that escalated quickly.

    https://nypost.com/2019/09/09/scientist-suggests-eating-huma…

    http://www.bitelabs.org/

    BiteLabs grows meat from celebrity tissue samples and uses it to make artisanal salami.

    Not sure if they are real or not, I suspect the first one is. Bug sammiches washed down with soylent green?

  • aimon on 03/08/2022 - 07:50

    Have been wanting this for years.

    If i could pick up some insects at the supermarket and chuck them in a stirfry i would do it today.

  • RolandWaites on 03/08/2022 - 09:38

    Probably. The meat we consume now is already so dissociated from the killing process. Why should we not be able to get over the fact what we'll eat in the future is just a different type of once living being?

    • SlavOz on 03/08/2022 - 09:54
      -2

      Because that once living being isn't a porterhouse steak. You can't really harvest parts off a bug so you have to eat the whole thing. Guts, poop, eggs, multiple legs, etc.

      Say what you want but it's a step backwards for mankind. Eating meat was the real enlightenment for us. And we've perfected the way we harvest and prepare it.

      Eating bugs seriously? It's like the stone ages.

  • netjock on 03/08/2022 - 09:44
    -1

    Bloomberg just did your homework

    Believe it or not. Subsidies and farm is the problem.

  • franco cozzo on 03/08/2022 - 09:54
    +1

    yeah hard pass…i'll leave it to klaus and hes wef cronies

  • grasstown on 03/08/2022 - 15:08
    +1

    Well written op

  • 6828 on 03/08/2022 - 19:38

    I'd have no issues eating insect based meals if the texture and taste was palatable. I used to hate the thought of eating Brussel Sprouts when I was growing up and now I love the things. Just a matter of exposure and quality probably.

  • bowdo on 03/08/2022 - 19:42
    +1

    If they can make something that tastes like a rib-eye steak I don't care if they make it out of bat sphincters.

  • amy8017 on 03/08/2022 - 22:45

    I would've 100% eaten the bugs, I was planning to jump on board early and buy some mealworm flour for baking but because it's still a niche product it was too expensive. But that was a few years ago and I've since ditched meat altogether. Had no issues whatsoever getting enough protein and nutrients from mostly plants.
    I also now disagree that eating bugs will be a huge thing - precision fermentation will take over with regard to meat, eggs and dairy before we know it. The technology is there and the companies using it are heavily funded. They can already make these foods so that they're indistinguishable under a microscope, yet with better nutrition properties (eg cheese that tastes identical and has all the protein and calcium but with no saturated fat or cholesterol). Cheaper to produce than lab meat using cells. Problem is that it will take a long time for government and industry to transition, not to mention the yuck factor many people will feel at the idea of it being 'unnatural' (even though insulin for diabetics and rennet for hard cheeses use precision fermentation to produce and most of us have eaten that). Less of a yuck factor than insects though?

    • SlavOz on 04/08/2022 - 01:02

      Yeah, I won't be eating some 3D-printed meat or eggs.

      • amy8017 on 04/08/2022 - 08:51

        I can't bloody wait! The non-animal alternatives have come such a long way and there's a lot of amazing products and cooking knowledge sharing out there. But some childhood dishes just can't be replicated. And I'm over there being coconut oil in everything lol. I'd stop reducing dairy/eggs and eat meat again if it was ethical. Then again the palate changes so I'm not sure I'd like the taste as much as I used to.

        It takes 15,415 litres of water to produce a kilo of beef, 5,000 litres for a kilo of cheese, 2,400 litres for a dozen eggs.
        The earth can't sustain what it takes to keep making these things. They'll become more and more expensive and out of reach for average people. Farmers themselves struggle to afford to produce them already. And why choose them over animal free products that are kind to the environment and won't cause high cholesterol and cancer?
        Also it's not 3D printed, not the lab cultured meat we first heard making mince beef about a few years back. Precision fermentation, totally different process. The traditional dairy industry will be obsolete in three decades.

        • SlavOz on 04/08/2022 - 11:46

          Farming animal proteins is certainly resource heavy, and perhaps unsustainable in its current form. But the answer is not to abandon it completely - that seems counter to the human spirit of innovation and problem solving. We have faced far worse moral, practical, or existential dilemmas throughout history and managed to solve them without resorting to radical measures like undoing thousands of years of our eating habits.

          Humans solve problems. This is what the climate change doomsdayers don't account for. They don't see how far the world has come in the last 20 years and how far it will go in the next 20. In 2040, we'll be able to do things we never thought was possible. And in 2060, we'll outdo ourselves again.

          Its easy to overlook this because we've become so used to our iPhone, high speed internet, Zoom, air travel, etc that we don't realise how truly amazing and recent these inventions are. The day we give up on our ability to solve problems is the day humanity dies.

          Also, I'd warn against trusting the exaggerated figures around water usage for animal products. I get about 1 egg per day from each of my hens (6 in total), which means I'd have a dozen after just 2 days. Trust me, they're not consuming thousands of litres of water in that time, nor would they even come close to that in their entire life cycle.

          • amy8017 on 05/08/2022 - 22:19

            @SlavOz: Why are you attached to the way people have been eating for thousands of years? Just because things have been done a certain way in history it doesn’t mean it’s ideal. There was a time when meat was necessary in order for humans to thrive. But that is no longer the case. We know more than we ever have about nutrition and health, and we have access to everything we need now without animal products. Some of the highest performing athletes are vegan. I know some vegan bodybuilders and they're strong as hell, in peak health.

            But the key thing is - you make a lot of great points about human ingenuity and how we get so used to advancements that we forget to appreciate them. But precision fermentation is the very technology you’re talking about waiting for! The breakthrough that will solve the dilemma of unsustainable farming. All without having to sacrifice anything in terms of eating what you’re used to - flavours, textures, nutrition profile. Real meat, to make all the dishes you already love without having to eat processed alternatives on the market now. How could that be less appealing than eating insects? Which is something most of us are not culturally accustomed to.

            Perhaps there are ways to make the current system slightly better. For example, breeding cows that fart less and adjusting their feed to slightly lower methane emissions. But at the end of the day, growing animals requires a lot of space and resources and creates pollution. And consumers are increasingly becoming horrified by the ethics of it. The meat, dairy and egg industries know this and are working with and investing in plant foods and these new technologies because otherwise they’ll die out. In a capitalist society you can’t just cling to things being the way they always have been if competing technology is going to be your end. Look at Kodak. And government subsidies for animal agriculture won’t last forever.

            It’s awesome that you have hens (and it sounds like they’re incredible layers! My MIL's are lazy as). And it doesn’t seem that they’re that resource intensive in your backyard. I’m not expert on whether the 2400L figure is exaggerated. But on an industrial scale I’m pretty sure the figure factors in irrigation of large swathes of land, regular washing of premises to maintain hygiene (imagine all the chicken shit!), temperature control, however much water the grain they’re fed took to grow, who knows, maybe even water to grow the trees for timber that was used to build their housing?

  • unahb on 06/08/2022 - 04:54

    Why do people want to eat bugs, why not just eat plants

    • EightImmortals on 06/08/2022 - 07:33

      Not everyone can survive on plants. I tried for a while and only lasted a few months. And I don;t think it's case of people 'wanting' to eat ze bugs (although you can if you do actually want to) as much as being forced to through the elimination of traditional food sources. I posted links to the current war on food back on page one if you're interested. You can bet your life that Bill and Klause wont be giving up their steaks.

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