How eating bugs could save the planet

Fancy munching on a plate of locusts? Or even a maggot salad?

No? Ok, how about some wasps and rice?

Doesn’t exactly tickle the taste buds, does it? But such a diet could well be the solution to the growing world food crisis.

‘Crisis? What crisis?’ You may be asking. Well, at a summit in London last month, the executive director of the World Food Program said that a “silent tsunami” of hunger is sweeping the world’s most desperate nations.

Not enough food and too many people- that’s the basic problem. And it means the price of food has risen by 83% in the last three years, according to the World Food Program.

It’s already caused riots in the Caribbean, Africa and Asia, while even the US is not immune, with grocers forced to limit sales as fearful Americans begin to stockpile staple foods.

And we have not even touched on the growing health problems caused by obesity and the use of pesticides.

Well, maybe insects could be answer. Ok, the idea of tucking into a worm sandwich may sound disgusting, but just think: it’s low in cholesterol, it provides nutrients and proteins, it keeps insect numbers down and it means we can reduce the amount of pesticides we use.

Not convinced? Well, researchers at the Ohio State University think it could be just the thing to not only reduce the demand for food, but also keep us healthy.

Feeling hungry? Well, of course, it’s only Western palettes which seem to be bugged by bugs.

Munching on insects is already common place in Africa, Asia and South America.

In Thailand, the government was so desperate to get rid of locusts they urged people to eat them, and even released a recipe book.

However, the locusts became such a bit hit, they actually started to plant corn to attract locusts!

Wasps and rice is also a big favourite in Japan, while a plate of butterfly larvae sells at £12.50 a plate.

So why do us Westerners have a problem with it? Let’s not forget, we happily eat prawns, shrimps, crabs and lobsters, while the French eat snails, the British eat black pudding and tripe, and let’s not even think about what goes into sausages. So we can’t be that squeamish.

But will it work? Tina van der Biel, senior nutritionist at the World Food Program, which provides food to poor countries, is not against the idea, but thinks it could be impractical.

They could be part of a complimentary diet, she said: “but they do not lend themselves to programs like ours where you transport food over long distances and where you have to store food for a few months.”