• Question: would you eat bugs and could they be a big source of protein in the future???

    Asked by 5uperdyl to Duncan, Grant, Julie, Nik, Rachel on 18 Mar 2013.
    • Photo: Julie Bland

      Julie Bland answered on 18 Mar 2013:

      Yes I would and in fact really want to try some! It has been shown it would be a much more viable way of producing protein however I don’t think real big bug farms have ever been run for real so wonder if they could find important difference between what they think would happen ( model) and the real thing, a real decrease in carbon footprint? Risk of having the bugs escaping?…

    • Photo: Duncan Gaskin

      Duncan Gaskin answered on 18 Mar 2013:

      I guess you mean insect bugs. I like to think I’d give them a try. And yes I think they could be used in the future to provide protein.

      There is a programme on BBC4 tonight (the 18th) at 9pm called ‘Can eating insects save the world?’ which will be worth watching.

    • Photo: Grant Campbell

      Grant Campbell answered on 18 Mar 2013:

      If by bugs you means micro-organisms, then we already eat these with our food, but not usually as the major component of the food. The interesting exception, however, is Quorn, which made from a fungus.

    • Photo: Rachel Edwards-Stuart

      Rachel Edwards-Stuart answered on 18 Mar 2013:

      I have been to a number of talks about this, and the general view is that the demand on meat at the moment is far greater than the supply, so we will at one point run out of animal meat. At that point, insects will become a very important source of proteins in our diet so we better start getting used to them! I have never tried an insect, but I imagine they are quite a hassle to eat – you need to remove quite a lot of outer non edible parts before you reach the fleshy bits! Not like a nice juice steak!

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