Does coming face-to-face with a cockroach make you want to scream with fear? What a  waste! Find the benefits of eating insects in this article.

In a conference named ‘Insects to feed the world’  held in May 2014, eating insects was shown as a trend. Along with the increase of population, humans are facing a threat: a lack of food. By 2050, there will be more than 5 billion people on the earth, however, animal husbandry has brought a heavy burden to our planet. Large amounts of land and water resources have been consumed and animal secretions pollute soil and water as well. As a result, the idea of eating insects in order to feed people with enough protein has been growing in popularity recently.

One advantage of eating insects are their abundance. There are more than 3650 types of edible insects in the world that provide a huge food resource. Besides, almost all edible insects have a rich protein content. For example, bees contain 80% protein and crickets contain 76% protein, which is higher than the protein content of beef. Moreover, the cost of feeding insects is lower than feeding cattle. Insects don’t need as much space as cattle and they have lower emissions of greenhouse gases when compared to livestock. Besides, some species of insect are more resistant to drought than cattle, pigs and poultry, so they need to be fed less water.

However, eating insects is not commonly accepted by people. One reason could be the bad image they have. To most people, insects always live in dirty areas and are linked to feelings of disgust. Moreover, the bacteria in or on insects concern many people. In this case, some insect food producers or restaurants try to change their appearance or improve the impression that they give to people.