'Disgust factor' must be overcome if planet-friendly insect food to become mainstream

The "disgust factor" must be overcome if insect-based foods are to become mainstream, according to a study.

Insects can be high in protein and making them more acceptable could help cut the high greenhouse gas emissions that come from farming cattle.

There are also potential benefits for cutting obesity and researchers say the idea of farming insects is gaining more attention.

Hundreds of millions of people in Asia, Africa and Latin America are estimated to already eat insects to some degree.

There are hopes Western attitudes could shift over time, perhaps in a similar way that food such as sushi has become mainstream.

"Insects are a potentially rich source of protein and micro-nutrients and could help provide a solution to the double burden of obesity and undernutrition," said study lead Dr Lauren McGale, from Edge Hill University in Lancashire.

"Some insect proteins, such as ground crickets or freeze-dried mealworms, are cheaper and easier to farm, often lower in fat and have a lower environmental impact than traditional livestock."

However, most people are still very reluctant due to preconceptions over taste and appearance.

But the study also found they were significantly more likely to give insects a go if they are ground into a powder.

"This has been done successfully with rice products fortified with cricket or locust flours in other parts of the world," said co-author Dr Maxine Sharps from De Montfort University.

Only 13% of the 603 people questioned in the UK study said they would be willing to regularly eat insect food.

Some 47% said they wouldn't eat it regularly, and 40% were unsure.

More than 82% of people expected insect food to be crunchy, 64.6% salty, and 62.4% bitter.

Only 24% said they expected to like the flavour, with just 14.1% believing insect food would look appetising.

Younger people also appeared more squeamish - and each year younger was associated with a 2% increase in saying "no" to the idea.

"The disgust factor is one of most important challenges to be overcome," said Dr Sharps.

"After all, there may be eventually no choice with climate change and projected global population growth."

The study's findings are being presented at this week's European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Venice.

Sky News
Archive [May 14 2024]

 

[Unyielding Stupidity]

If they want us to eat bugs so bad why not go for the water bugs people actually like eating? Shrimps, crawdads, lobsters, crab, etc.

Because those don't work as a humiliation ritual for the poor teeming masses. That's the real reason they want you to eat bugs.

 

[legtard respecter]

ie people will only comply if they're lobotomised, correct?

 

[Spider Princess Fan]

I'm going to eat the people who keep telling us to eat the bugs.

Be careful with the brain trimmings, one wrong bite and you'll turn into a retard, just like your dinner.

 

[robobobo]

It's simply not happening. The proteins in insect chitin are basically identical to the proteins that kill people with shellfish allergies as crabs and shrimp and whatnot are also chitinous, so any food they stick bugs in will have to be plastered in warnings or they'll be sued into oblivion after dozens die from unknowingly eating something they're terribly allergic to.

I have no objection to eating bugs, I'm perfectly willing to give them a try. I already eat sea bugs, clams, snails, squids, eels, any number of weird fucked-up animals, and they're all tasty. My only real concern is that most insects would have a bad meat to shell ratio; if you eat a crab there's a decent amount of tasty edible bits, but for something like a grasshopper you'd be mostly eating shell and guts, not up my alley.

 

[keytar]

I would eat bugs of my own volition because I'm not a picky eater and some of them look alright, but if they were forced on me then I would refuse out of spite.

 

[Bland Crumbs]

If insects are so great why did we develop the disgust of them and why has it endured?

I will not eat the bugs, faggot.

 

[Zirnwyb]

Be careful with the brain trimmings, one wrong bite and you'll turn into a retard, just like your dinner.

Yeah I'm not eating brains. I don't want kuru or some shit.

 

[pot of sneed]

It's simply not happening. The proteins in insect chitin are basically identical to the proteins that kill people with shellfish allergies as crabs and shrimp and whatnot are also chitinous, so any food they stick bugs in will have to be plastered in warnings or they'll be sued into oblivion after dozens die from unknowingly eating something they're terribly allergic to.

In the past I would have believed you except human lives and the right to know what they were consuming were removed when covid "vaccines" became a thing, so if the powers that be can inject 90% of the population with experimental cocktails, they can absolutely make those same people eat the bugs. The patience of the peodelites is wearing thin and it's only a matter of time before it's mandated that meat is off the menu and bugs are now on it.

 

[Otterly]

A reminder that the derided ‘disgust factor’ is an inbuiltbprotective mechanism called the behavioural immune system. This kicks in when we see something potentially disease causing to us, like a maggot infected wound, or rotten meat. It’s a response to make us stay away from things that can harm us. Oddly, conservatives have a much stronger response and progressives have a much weaker one, and the response is also initiated by stimuli like two men kissing.
I have often wondered if the real political divide is people with a healthy behavioural immune system vs the slaaneshi cultists without

 

[Lone MacReady II]

Iudea Delenda Est, that is all that must be said. Send your goyslop meat to Israel.

Because the Torah says you're not supposed to eat them.

Wouldn't be the least bit shocked if the >Babylonian Talmud< said directly that, "You must only serve insects to the goyim".

 

[Nouvostonolion]

I'm just confused about why the bugs need to look like bugs. It's intensely off-putting to be told to eat something that your brain tells you to be disgusted by. If they actually made the bugs look edible instead of a fried husk then I'm sure more people would be willing to give it a try.

 

[ZazietheBeast]

Here's the counter-offer. Bugs to be fed to birds and we eat the birds. Also, unironically, insects are behind crop failures and being general nuisances to people in general. I can also work with lizards and frogs.

Also, shit like this is why no-one is signing up to fight for globohomo.

I will NOT eat the bugs. Fucking pedoelites are something else trying to make us eat this shit, and you can bet they will continue dining on wagyu steaks and lobster and caviar while finger-wagging at us how WE'RE the ones destroying the world. Not even medieval tyrants were this brazen.

Medieval tyrants would be dealing with widespread rebellion if this shit came to pass in their territories. And once other tyrants catch wind that kingdom has gotten weaker, they'd either send in their own invasion force or aid the locals in deposing the retarded tyrant.

 

[The Punished Mitch]

I don't understand why scientists and the media keep bringing up this particular far right conspiracy theory.

 

[PunkinMan]

I enjoy eating house ants because of their sweetness so ill just stick to those and not lab processed bugs thanks.

 

[grump]

I was wondering where all the backlash to the idea of bug and lab meat was years ago when this stuff was first coming out since I could see back then they were clearly positioning it as an eventual replacement rather than a voluntary alternative to real food.

It was especially strange not to hear a peep about frankenstein meet synthesized in a petri dish from the organic crowd that freaks out about anything else artificial in their food. You'd think they'd be at the forefront of opposition.

Guess I just had to wait awhile for people to catch on, although theres still not as much backlash as I thought there should be. Especially from the aforementioned organic crowd freaking out about plastic gloves touching their food but gushing over frankenburgers.

It seems we have a bizarre inversion where when it comes to bug/franken meat most of the 'no artificial stuff in our food' people don't care about this or are even in support of it while opposition comes more from conservative types that don't care about the rest of the artificial vs natural food debate

 

[Dysnomia]

There are hopes Western attitudes could shift over time, perhaps in a similar way that food such as sushi has become mainstream.

I'm not sure how commonplace it is to eat sushi in the US outside of hipster hives. I don't know anyone who likes it or will even try it. It's still considered weird to a lot of people. Plus it's usually fish. And fish is considered a normal food eaten across most cultures without revulsion (unless you really hate or are allergic to seafood). This is apples and oranges comparison. Not apples and apples like the author thinks. You're talking about bugs, which are not a staple food in the US. Why can't we have our own cultural taboos? If we tried to push pork on the Middle East there'd be an enormous outrage. Let the bugs go already. No one wants them.

Beyond Amerifats being pussies about eating insects, I doubt the existing big meat companies would let that industry take off.

Big Beef would be big time on the ball with this one. The beef industry isn't going to let cricket burgers cut it's bottom line. Meatless burgers fizzled out because it was overpriced slop. And I have no doubt that insect based foods would be the same. Overpriced and loaded with salt and other crap. Tofu is cheap. Buy that instead.

 

[Bland Crumbs]

If insects are so great why did we develop the disgust of them and why has it endured?

I will not eat the bugs, faggot.

 

[draggs]

"After all, there may be eventually no choice with climate change and projected global population growth."

No choice huh

How many divisions does Dr. Sharps have?

 

[Dysnomia]

If insects are so great why did we develop the disgust of them and why has it endured?

I will not eat the bugs, faggot.

People will say it's because we haven't grown up eating them and that it's so normal in other countries. Yeah. Countries where people are starving or have had severe famine as part of their history. But think about it, even when there was famine in the US, like the Dust Bowl, did eating the bugs become commonplace? No it didn't. I'm sure some people ate bugs in desperate times. But it never resulted in widespread acceptance of bugs as food. They remain a very niche food and I don't think that will change.

I'm not eating the bugs either.

 

[Chaos Theorist]

If we reduce the number of darkies in the world this wouldnt be a problem