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Sunday, October 27, 2013

AFP — Chef at ‘The Naked Lunch’ offers ‘insect tapas’ to Paris bar-hoppers


I have been saying for years that insects are the new protein and are going to be really big when the public gets over its squeamishness. Interestingly, among those who have gotten lost in the boonies for a significant time, the difference is survival is determined based on whether one can eat insects and worms. It's all psychological. Insects are considered a delicacy in some parts of the world. Glad to see this chef helping the cause. Meat-eating is not compatible with controlling climate change, but the world's appetite for protein is increasing. Insects to the rescue.
At a tiny bar in Paris’s Montmartre district, chef Elie Daviron is happy to admit his new menu has disgusted some clients while others need two or three drinks before they can face it.
In my days as a world-traveler I ate just about anything — after a few beers. I was never disappointed either.

The Raw Story
Chef at ‘The Naked Lunch’ offers ‘insect tapas’ to Paris bar-hoppers
Agence France-Presse


15 comments:

  1. You guys are just getting too gross for me. Bring on the Rapture! I've had enough.

    Of course ALL food is clean for Christians but you won't get bugs past observant Jews (locusts are clean though). Nor me if I can help it.

    There is such a thing as human dignity and eating bugs is beneath it, imo.

    But hey as long as the bankers and the rich don't have to eat them then all is well, eh?

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  2. This is a fascinating subject and I've been studying it for years. Recently I've focused on answering the big question: "Why is this such a problem?"
    F.Beard's comment is quite useful: the whole 'human dignity' thing. Trouble is that this reflects an absolute lack of thinking. People keep saying that 'insects are the food of the future' because they're paying attention to what's actually going on here on planet earth: entomophagy represents one of the best possible futures for humankind. Those who refuse to consider the idea are not using their brains. This is a problem.

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  3. Dave,

    Feed the insects to edible fish. Problem solved.

    Or continue down the path of human degradation to Soylent Green.

    Btw, that was part of the Hebrews' punishment for breaking their Convent with the Lord - eventual desperate cannibalism under siege. See Deuteronomy 28:49-57 for the gruesome prediction.

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  4. Tom, in response to the idea that "meat-eating is not compatible with climate change" … check out this ~20 minute Ted Talk by Allan Savory called How To Green the World's Desserts and Reverse Climate Change. He may disagree with you…

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpTHi7O66pI#t=1242

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  5. It's the scale that's the problem, JK. As populations grow more affluent, meat consumption increases and calories and nutrients from meat are the most inefficient and costly.

    Virtually, the whole agricultural production of the state of Iowa, essentially feed corn and soybeans, goes to meat production, with some going to corn syrup, one of the worst forms of sweetening in terms of health consequences.

    Of course, with so much animal feed grown in Iowa, Iowa is also heavy into meat production, overwhelmingly pork. The current trend is huge confinements called CAFO's (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation), which is resulting in not only environmental hazards but also political turmoil (not my backyard). People don't want to live in the vicinity of such operations owing to the odor, but with private property being sacrosanct and Iowa's economy being chiefly agricultural, there is really no stopping the CAFO's.

    Then there are the humane issues. There is no way to raise and slaughter animals for meat on this scale humanely. It offends most people's conscience when they see it. As a result, Iowa has outlawed photographing these operations and turned environmental and animal rights activists into "terrorists." I kid you not.

    Then there is the issue of growing the fodder, which involves huge use of fertilizers and pesticides that are environmentally hazardous, and the feed is now also GMO produced. In addition, antibiotic use for livestock is mandatory due to the overcrowding, and animals are also given hormones and other additives to increase yield.

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  6. The nice thing about using insects for food is that there are no environmental hazards, the protein is generally more nutritious than vegetable protein, and, most significantly, production is easily scalable without limit and without incurring negative externalities. It's going to go big time, guaranteed. No one will even realize that they are eating insects, such like now, no one has to slaughter and butcher their own meat or even realize that they are eating corpses. When you think about it, eating meat is much more disgusting than eating insects.

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  7. And if those agricultural corporations were broadly owned then they would be broadly democratic, right? And have policies and practices that reflected the general consensus?

    So it all goes back to the banking cartel, Tom, since that's the major reason why corporations are NOT broadly owned.

    Hint: Take out the root of evil and the branches wither. Also Occam's Razor indicates there should not be many root causes.

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  8. When you think about it, eating meat is much more disgusting than eating insects. Tom Hickey

    The mind is often not as wise as the rest of the body. In fact, it can often be perverse.

    But to each his own! Bon appétit!

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  9. But I do see a long term investment opportunity (assuming the End isn't near), kosher food!

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  10. Psychologically, it may be a big ask to eat the critters just out of the pan.

    But a possible way around would be to pre-processed insects.

    One way would be processed meals, like tofu or vegetarian burgers and such. Say, Vegemite for Aussies and Bovril for Britishers.

    Another way would be like protein supplements. Say, a kind of protein powder, added to bread or to be used in soup.

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  11. Exactly. That's what's most likely to happen to scale it up. You'll never realize you are eating protein from insects, just a most people who are not hunters or small farmers have dissociated eating meat from eating animal corpses.

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  12. You might already be eating the Cochineal as it's used to produce the red colour E120 used in some food.

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  13. Worth noting: Savory's ideas of saving ecosystems by filling them with cattle have been debunked: see

    http://www.slate.com/articles/life/food/2013/04/allan_savory_s_ted_talk_is_wrong_and_the_benefits_of_holistic_grazing_have.html

    As for feeding insects to livestock: that's a great idea for now, but given the predictions of increasingly concentrated urbanization and other factors [such as the dangers of zoonotic diseases like bird flu], lots of future people won't be eating mammals OR birds fifty years from now. If we can somehow manage to grow up as a species and react constructively to what's happening, we'll be better off.

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  14. And yes: turning insects into flour for baked goods, and transforming them in other ways -- just as we do with most animal proteins currently -- is the best way to make progress. But since we can't be deceiving the public about the ingredients, dialogue is needed.

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  15. Dave,

    Thanks for the link. Apparently even Climate Change Skeptics/Deniers are also skeptical of Savory's claims:

    http://wattsupwiththat.com/2013/03/25/the-climate-mechanisms-of-world-deserts-and-limitations-in-allan-savorys-thesis/

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