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You never forget the first bug you eat. In fact, it seems just like yesterday to Daniella Martin.
It was 10 years ago when I was getting my anthropology degree and studying pre-Columbian food in the Yucatan region of Mexico, Martin reminisced to AOL News.
Back before Christopher Columbus' arrival, the amount of big game in that area was very small, so the locals relied on insects for their protein in bugged-out dishes like chapulines, a tasty treat from the Mexican state of Oaxaca that combines dry-roasted grasshoppers with lime and chili.
This might have bugged some people, but Martin found it to be a wonderful form of cultural immersion and it put a bee in her bonnet about the concept of insects as food.
There is no shortage of good logical science behind the idea of insects as food, she said. They're a good source for animal protein and can be easily implemented in regions where it's hard to grow crops.
People in America have a knee-jerk reaction to bugs; they're beneath contempt, she said. Women especially are seen as squeamish of insects, but if you see a woman enjoying them, it changes that perception.
Martin sees four reasons women especially should be eating bugs: They are easy to prepare; they're cleaner than most meat; they're already in most processed foods anyway; and, most important, they taste great.
Vegetarians aren't excited about people eating bugs any more than any other kind of living animal, Martin admitted. However, if we can create an alternative market for the insects that destroy the most crops, we will use less pesticides.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA_rBNeVtzo&feature=player_embedded[/media]
Full story: http://www.aolnews.com/2011/02/22/bug-eating-ladies-speak-out-for-insect-cuisine/
It was 10 years ago when I was getting my anthropology degree and studying pre-Columbian food in the Yucatan region of Mexico, Martin reminisced to AOL News.
Back before Christopher Columbus' arrival, the amount of big game in that area was very small, so the locals relied on insects for their protein in bugged-out dishes like chapulines, a tasty treat from the Mexican state of Oaxaca that combines dry-roasted grasshoppers with lime and chili.
This might have bugged some people, but Martin found it to be a wonderful form of cultural immersion and it put a bee in her bonnet about the concept of insects as food.
There is no shortage of good logical science behind the idea of insects as food, she said. They're a good source for animal protein and can be easily implemented in regions where it's hard to grow crops.
People in America have a knee-jerk reaction to bugs; they're beneath contempt, she said. Women especially are seen as squeamish of insects, but if you see a woman enjoying them, it changes that perception.
Martin sees four reasons women especially should be eating bugs: They are easy to prepare; they're cleaner than most meat; they're already in most processed foods anyway; and, most important, they taste great.
Vegetarians aren't excited about people eating bugs any more than any other kind of living animal, Martin admitted. However, if we can create an alternative market for the insects that destroy the most crops, we will use less pesticides.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA_rBNeVtzo&feature=player_embedded[/media]
Full story: http://www.aolnews.com/2011/02/22/bug-eating-ladies-speak-out-for-insect-cuisine/
