Entomophagy

If you know Greek – or paid attention to our graphic – you might have already guessed what the word “entomophagy” means. “From the Greek ἔντομον éntomon, 'insect', and φαγεῖν phagein, 'to eat’” To put it simply, entomophagy is eating insects.

And before you freak out, not only is that a common practice in other parts of the world, but you have unsuspectingly been devouring insects your whole life. According to Scientific American, you eat an average of one to two pounds of flies, maggots, and other bugs each year without ever knowing it.

If it makes you feel better, it’s gotten better. In the old days, we’d just grab fruit or vegetables from our gardens and fields (or from our local grocer’s gardens and fields).  Now, because of industrialization, we clean and filter every food product made before it gets to the consumer.

But it’s so hard to filter every impurity out that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sets an acceptable ratio of bug parts in most food products. And it includes more foods than you’d expect, including:

• Peanut Butter
• Chocolate
• Pasta
• Raisins
• Mushrooms
• Coffee beans
• Canned tomatoes
• Frozen broccoli
• Pepper
• Cinnamon
• Sauerkraut
• Berries
• Fruit juices

Try not to think about that the next time you’re chugging some pulpy Florida orange juice – the texture may not only be from the orange.

On the Other Hand

Bugs can be a valuable food resource in your diet, adding protein, good fat, and high mineral content. And that’s before we take into account that an insect-based diet is much more efficient and creates less pollution for the planet. To give you a comparison, that McDonald’s Quarter Pounder creates around four pounds of greenhouse gasses – even more for the double Quarter or Burger King’s Triple Whopper.

That’s a big reason why the majority of the world outside of North America incorporates insects into their diet is that it’s a healthy alternative that protects the environment. And believe it or not, a lot of those bugs are tastier than you’d expect.

Beetles, caterpillars, bees, wasps, ants, grasshoppers, locusts and crickets are among the favorite flavors in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Some are considered true exotic delicacies that command a high price, like mopane caterpillars and weaver ants.

More than 1,900 insect species are considered edible and American restaurants are starting to catch on to the trend. Washington, D.C. has a restaurant that serves grasshopper tacos. The Black Ant in New York City offers a black ant guacamole that is hugely popular and lives up to its name.

Experimental Taste

If you want to give it a go, here are a few of the most popular and tastiest insects to eat:

• Grasshoppers, Crickets and Locusts – deep fried, roasted, barbequed – just remove the legs and twist off the head before cooking.
• Bees and Wasps – not just the honey, the insects themselves can be crushed into a powder for soup or seasoning.
• Ants – boil them, or just chow down raw – once you’ve made sure the ant is dead and won’t bite you back.
• Larvae, Grubs and Roly Pollies – slimy, yet satisfying! If you don’t want to eat them like Mufasa and his jungle pals, you can skewer them like a wiggly shish-kabob and roast over an open flame for a crunchy treat. Roly Pollies in particular have a very shrimp-like taste.
• Termites – yes, they’ll eat you out of house and home, but only if you don’t eat them first. Termites are high in protein and heart-healthy unsaturated fats and offer the most energy per bite. They can be roasted or fried – or eaten raw.
• Cockroaches – yes, we know, bear with us. Birds and bats eat roaches all day and night. And they’re a popular snack in other parts of the world, including China that has roach farms. You just have to make sure they’re dead, properly cleaned, then boiled, roasted or fried.

Believe it, we understand if you’d rather not touch, or even see, cockroaches, cooked or otherwise. That’s why our Go Green Perimeter Plus program is our most popular.

For an affordable fee, you can have a bug free home year round, and know that the treatments we use are safe for the whole family. It also bundles well into Term Assure 365, making sure the termites stay away too. For more information on any of our solutions or to schedule an appointment, just give us a call!