Insects For Dinner...
But Not As Guests
Now, three developing countries on three
different continents are promoting insects
as food for humans. Costa Rica, Benin and
Bhutan want top quality restaurants to start
putting larva and tarantula spiders on the
menu. The Netherlands is paying the bill for
the project.
Why should a shrimp be tastier than a
beetle? Why are worms only considered to be
edible in extreme situations? Experts say it
is simply a matter of culture and
psychology.
Biodiversity
Costa Rica’s National Institute for
Biodiversity, INBío, is taking part in a
study into the consumption of insects. The
two other countries involved are Benin in
Africa and Bhutan in Asia.
The study is focusing on edible products
from forests and jungles, such as insects
and toadstools. Benin has a great deal
expertise in the consumption of insects.
Bhutan is a country where people know a lot
about toadstools. Costa Rica is contributing
its knowledge on biodiversity.
Entomologist Manuel Zumbado, head of the
project at INBío, talks about the
Netherlands’ role:
“I don’t know all the details, but the
Netherlands is financing the project and has
left the organisation to the other three
countries.”
Beetle larva on a skewer
Experts from Costa Rica travelled to Benin
for the project. Here they found that eating
locusts, crickets, termites, beetle larva
and butterfly larva is the most normal thing
in the world. |
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