‘Left
unchecked, climate change aligned with population explosion and low
agricultural yields will drastically increase global poverty and hunger over
the next two decades’, warns the international aid organization Oxfam in a
report released in May 2011.
Ryan Cheti and Shay Ola, founders of
the Rebel Dining Society, have come up with a way in which we in the UK can
help the global food crisis by consuming our protein from a more sustainable source
than livestock. Their culinary inspiration centres on us obtaining our daily protein
requirements from the humble insect; a concept which appears to be rather
remarkable in the UK but is in fact already adopted by 80 % of the world’s
population.
I attended a Sunday dinner that Cheti
and Ola believe (or at least hope) will become customary in the future. The
menu consisted of four dim sums filled with:
1.
Mealworms with forbidden rice and oyster mushrooms
2.
Locusts with shiro simeji and lotus root
3.
Mealworm with water chestnut and shitake mushroom
4.
Locusts with taro root and hon shimeji
Having turned up expecting a tasty
leg of lamb for my supper, I was a bit dismayed to find out that I would in
fact be eating insects and tried to scoff as many of the courses as possible
before finding out the finer details of the menu. Up until the point where the
menu was revealed though, I thought that the dim sums were incredibly tasty and
was thankful that they did not resemble any insects in the slightest (the key I
believe to eating unconventional food).
This ‘gourmet’ dining experience was
designed to promote sustainability in our ever expanding world. However I
believe that insect protein could also play a role when looking after our
health. Currently adults in the UK obtain most of their protein from meat (British
Nutrition Foundation), but this source can be high in saturated fat leading to
raised cholesterol levels and subsequent health issues.
Insects
offer a concentrated source of protein, with lower saturated fat levels than the
traditional meats. Not only do some insects contain over 60 % protein, but for
those of us requiring a quick refuel, chomping away on the African termite can deliver
a whopping 761 calories per 100g as well (maybe not so appealing to some).
Insects are not only a high energy and protein source. The
call for free vitamins on the NHS by Prof Dame Sally Davies last week has been
received with some controversy as surely an encouragement to increase kids
intake of fruit and vegetables would be better. However insects could step in
and save the day here again being packed full of vitamins and minerals with 100
g of the Angolan caterpillar Angolan providing over 100
% of your recommended daily allowance for iron, copper, zinc and vitamins B1
and B2 (reviewed by
DeFoliart, Crop Protection).
So seeing as insects have all these
wonderful benefits and are eaten by the majority of other countries already,
why don’t we see them being used more in the UK? One of the main problems is
sourcing them. Ray and Cheti imported their locusts and mealworms all the way over
from Denmark (the same suppliers which Noma, third best restaurant in the world,
use). Currently insects are expensive to buy in the UK, one retailer offering
10 locusts for £11.54, and are seen (to some) as a luxury in Britain. However
as the general population becomes accustomed to the idea of eating insects,
this delicacy could become cheap and easy to produce, with insect farms being built
in urban areas, requiring minimal space and attention. As non-sentient animals,
they may also be seen as a protein source for those vegetarians who choose
their lifestyle due to ethical reasons.
I imagine though that once the
British public get over the idea that insects are too gross to eat, then they
could be a good, cheap, tasty source of protein. However I’m not too sure I’m
willing to regularly replace my Sunday roast beef with insect dumplings in the
future.
For
more information on our opinions on the ever changing public health issues, get
in touch with us. Follow us @BrandingScience on Twitter or visit our
LinkedIn company page.
Becky
Geffen Graduate
Research Executive
- BSc (Hons) Natural Sciences from Newcastle University majoring in medicinal chemistry
- MSc Pharmacology from Oxford University
- Research experience in anticancer drug design and the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance
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