Traditional livestock rearing practices place heavy
burdens on Earth’s limited natural resources: animal waste
contaminates water sources, creates acidic environments,
and 1 polluting the air with greenhouse gases. Yet the
world’s livestock requirement is expected to double by the
year 2050. 2 Some scientists and environmental advocates
have such an alternative in mind: bugs. By embracing
entomophagy (the consumption of insects as food), 3
the nutritional needs of people can continue to be met while
also significantly reducing the ecological pressures resulting
from traditional livestock rearing practices.
Insects can be reared as minilivestock in small, urban
spaces and, in fact, 4 thrives in high-density, vertical
environments. Thirty crickets can produce roughly 3,000
offspring in a six-by-six-by-two inch plastic storage
container. 5 Those crickets yield about a pound of food.
How much food they yield depends on the species. Rearing
minilivestock in urban areas could significantly reduce the
deforestation caused by the raising of traditional livestock.
6 Insects have external skeletons, or exoskeletons,
that support and protect their bodies. Because their
exoskeletons seal in water, insects don’t sweat and,
consequently, don’t need much water. 2,000 crickets, for
example, require only one liter of water every five weeks,
whereas traditional livestock consume 70 percent of the
world’s available fresh water. Insects also require far less
feed than do 7 animals; they require: a $15 mixture of cat-
food, cereal, and powdered milk can feed thousands of bugs
for two months. Insects can even consume organic waste,
further reducing the expense and ecological resources
needed to raise them. 8 Consequently, feeding one cow
costs a farmer about $70 to $80 every two months.
The environmental benefits of entomaphagy come at
no expense to humans’ health. 9 Moreover, the practice
of eating insects can, in fact, offer some nutritional
advantages. Vitamin B-12, for instance, which is essential
for neurological functions, blood production, metabolism,
and DNA 10 synthesis—is twice as plentiful in crickets
as it is in beef. In light of these nutritional advantages,
entomophagy is worth serious consideration as a solution
to the 11 originating livestock production crisis.
burdens on Earth’s limited natural resources: animal waste
contaminates water sources, creates acidic environments,
and 1 polluting the air with greenhouse gases. Yet the
world’s livestock requirement is expected to double by the
year 2050. 2 Some scientists and environmental advocates
have such an alternative in mind: bugs. By embracing
entomophagy (the consumption of insects as food), 3
the nutritional needs of people can continue to be met while
also significantly reducing the ecological pressures resulting
from traditional livestock rearing practices.
Insects can be reared as minilivestock in small, urban
spaces and, in fact, 4 thrives in high-density, vertical
environments. Thirty crickets can produce roughly 3,000
offspring in a six-by-six-by-two inch plastic storage
container. 5 Those crickets yield about a pound of food.
How much food they yield depends on the species. Rearing
minilivestock in urban areas could significantly reduce the
deforestation caused by the raising of traditional livestock.
6 Insects have external skeletons, or exoskeletons,
that support and protect their bodies. Because their
exoskeletons seal in water, insects don’t sweat and,
consequently, don’t need much water. 2,000 crickets, for
example, require only one liter of water every five weeks,
whereas traditional livestock consume 70 percent of the
world’s available fresh water. Insects also require far less
feed than do 7 animals; they require: a $15 mixture of cat-
food, cereal, and powdered milk can feed thousands of bugs
for two months. Insects can even consume organic waste,
further reducing the expense and ecological resources
needed to raise them. 8 Consequently, feeding one cow
costs a farmer about $70 to $80 every two months.
The environmental benefits of entomaphagy come at
no expense to humans’ health. 9 Moreover, the practice
of eating insects can, in fact, offer some nutritional
advantages. Vitamin B-12, for instance, which is essential
for neurological functions, blood production, metabolism,
and DNA 10 synthesis—is twice as plentiful in crickets
as it is in beef. In light of these nutritional advantages,
entomophagy is worth serious consideration as a solution
to the 11 originating livestock production crisis.