Insects are fairly much ubiquitous. They are in our homes, our offices, our gardens, on the train, they take the bus – they even manage to get their way through two hours of queues and security checks and get on to trans-Atlantic aircraft.
But the one place that I’ve never felt comfortable with insects is on my dinner plate. The idea of chocolate-coated locusts appeals not at all and, in spite of their name, pan-fried mealworms probably wouldn’t make a great meal.
The question is – why exactly are we revolted by the idea of eating insects? Let’s face it, most of the edible ones spend their lives eating plants, so that’s no different to cows or sheep that we quite happily chop up and chew. And have you ever thought about which bits of the cow you’re eating in that sausage? You mean you thought they threw the cow’s arse in the bin??
I think it’s a culture thing. We’ve been conditioned to think that insects are somehow dirty (most, in fact, are very clean), and the sight of a few blowflies sitting on that dog poo on the pavement puts us off of the whole concept. We think that insects spread pestilence and disease, when most are actually extremely beneficial and do useful things like pollinating flowers so that we get nice fruits to eat, or chewing up vegetable waste so that we’re not forever wandering around in a six foot deep pile of festering dead leaves.
So maybe we should try some of these things. Will caterpillars be on the menu at the first ever Uborka summer barbecue?