Introduction
For those people who have the knack to improve their diets and the surrounding, a shift from eating chicken and beef to consuming crickets, caterpillars and termites is a necessity. Insects are numerous, nutritious and ecologically bearable. In the contemporary world, persons have shunned the notion of including insects as part of their balanced daily diet, giving preference to the less nutritious and environmental unbearable food choices such as beef. The international organizations have been at the forefront addressing the need for the citizens of various nations to simulate the benefit of consuming insects. Additionally, this paper will argue that people should encompass insects as part of the alternative food sources in their diets because of food insecurity, nutritional benefits, and benefits for the environments.
As the human population rate hikes, it is crucial for humans to lower the levels of food consumption on the earth’s dwindling resources. The unpredictable climate change, overfishing activities, decreased the productivity of the farming lands and pollution from the farm chemicals imply that the population increase will impose a disproportionate burden on the globe’s ecosphere (Howard, 2015). The decrease in the food reserves will depict that the demand for food will decrease significantly in the preceding centuries.
According to International Feed Industry Federation, the total weight of the animal feed production in 2010 was approximately 720 million tons (Halloran & Vantomme, 2013). Insects are perfect substitutes of feed sources such as maize and fishmeal. The larvae of black soldier fly and common house fly form the highest immediate potential for insects appropriate for large scale production. The rearing of these flies is evident in nations such as China and South Africa.
Halloran & Vantomme (2013) address that the insects are around the globe and reproduce quickly, and they have a high growth rate and greater feed conversion rates. Nonetheless, the insects are nutritious in vitamins, proteins, and fats. Nevertheless, the insects can be eaten whole or pondered into powder and mixed with other suitable foods. The consumption of insects on a large scale is technically oriented, and established hotels are the leading players in selling the insects to consumers. The consumption of insects as feedstock for aquaculture and poultry feed are more probable to sprout as more widespread in the preceding decades.
There are enough reasons why we should be eating insects. It’s evident that they provide the required nutrients to the body. Insects have the ability to produce the required amounts of protein, calcium, iron, and zinc to be used in the body (Banjo, Laval, & Songonuga, 2006). For instance, an FAO report indicated that mature locusts and grasshoppers have protein levels that can be compared to raw beef. According to Dossey (2013), “house crickets, for instance, contains approximately 21 grams of protein per 100 grams of cricket while ground beef contains about 26 grams per 100 grams of meat, and powdered whole milk contains about 26 grams of protein per 100 grams.” Moreover, insects are said to consist of a high level of fat that enables them to supply enough calories to the diet. They can be consumed especially in the hunger-stricken regions across the universe.
The lipids that come from insects are rich in mono-polyunsaturated fatty acids that have proven to be free of cholesterol. Shockely and Dossey (2014) argues that insects are the sole sources of plentiful important nutrients for the human body. The numerous nutrients comprise of eight vital amino acids: Riboflavin, Vitamin B12, the biologically active form of vitamin A (retinoic acid, retinol, and retinaldehyde), and other minerals. (Shockely and Dossey, 2014). It has been established that proteins that are animal- based are more powerful and superior compared to those derived from plants. Therefore, edible insects should be preferred because of their ability to promote growth and encourage recovery rate to starving children. The consumption of edible insects illustrates the high efficiency associated with them. The composition deposited in the body of insects meets the requirements for human nutrition. The proteins, vitamins, and amino acids obtained from edible insects are essential micronutrients that are helpful in the human body.
Ipatenco (n.d) asserts that grasshoppers, crickets, and ants have demonstrated the nutritional value of edible bugs and insects. For example, a 3.5-ounce serving of raw grasshoppers consists 14 to 28 grams of protein. Moreover, it is important to note that grasshoppers and crickets can supply unsaturated fats that are used to lessen the risks of heart diseases. According to Ipatenco (n.d), the National Geographic website reveals that a 3.5-ounce of red ants contains 14 grams of proteins. A similar serving of the red ants offer 5.7 milligrams of iron, and they are also a potential sauce of calcium that is useful in the body. The website proceeds further to reveal that a giant water beetle has the richest source of protein compared to other insects since it produce 20 grams of protein in a 3.5-ounce. Nonetheless, beetles also have the capacity to supply calcium, iron, and Zinc (ibid).
Rebuttal
Griffiths, oppose that the insects such as crickets can be viewed as alternative sources of food. He addresses that the US scientists have not yet tested and proven that the crickets are suitable alternative sources of foods. There are several factors that may hinder the crickets as alternative sources off food. The forms of livestock production used and the food that the crickets are fed on, illustrate the factors that may hinder the crickets from being considered as alternative sources of food. The crickets can be denounced as alternative sources of food if there is lower biomass output concerning the foods that have been used to rear them. On the other hand, the crickets can be ignored as appropriate sources of foods if they are fed in poultry feed die rather than industrial poultry production feeds such as a chicken marsh.
Counterargument
The proposers view that the insects are environmental friendly. The insects are a sustainable resource because they have a high conversion rate because they are classified as cold-blooded. The feed to meat conversion rates relies on the category of the animal and the production activities applied. Therefore, the feed to meat ratio depicts the amount of feed needed to produce a one-kilogram increase in mass. The insects are viewed as more efficient to convert the feeds to meat faster. For instance, it is common for insects to convert 2kilograms of feed into 1 kilograms of insect mass. On the contrary, large animals such as cattle necessitate 8 kilograms of feed to generate 1 kilogram of body weight gain.
Deesey & Shockley (2013) addresses that the insects produce fewer greenhouse gases than other livestock categories. The production of greenhouse gases is likely to be lower compared to that of the convectional livestock. For example, a pig produces 10,100% more greenhouse gases per kilogram compared to the mealworms. The quantity of the greenhouse gases is measured per the kilogram of the insect product. The gases that the insects emit are nitrous oxide and methane. The emissions of the ammonia gases are also lower in insects compared to other animals. For instance, a pig discharges 50000% more than the locusts. These insects are very efficient at converting a wide range of organic matter into edible body mass. The main reason for the efficiency of the insects in converting feeds into meets faster is because they consume less energy to metabolize operations and their cold-blooded nature.
This feed to meat efficiency decreases the amount of animal feed needed to produce the exact amount of “meat,” reducing the amount of water used for irrigation. The area of agricultural land dedicated to growing pasture and fodder for the livestock and the application of the pesticides can be dangerous. These pesticides pose a threat to human health.
Rebuttal
Dossey (2013) argue that argue that even though the insects emit less gaseous gases, they have an alarming number of infant mortality of insects. Even if the insects can fit into fewer pieces of lands, there are higher risks of diseases due to confinement. The insects are objected to intense suffering compared to the conventional animals. The majority of these insects die after birth. Besides, these frequent and sudden infant deaths are unavoidable
Some people oppose that the insects are environmentally friendly and postulate that the insects are sometimes unbearable because they disturb the human environment. The insects carry diseases causing microorganisms on their antennas. Hence, these insects are dangerous to the presence of the human beings. Furthermore, these diseases are too expensive to treat or survive.
References
Banjo, A. D., Lawal, O. A., & Songonuga, E. A. (2006). The nutritional value of fourteen species of edible insects in southwestern Nigeria. African Journal of Biotechnology, 5(3), 298.
Deesey, A. T., & Shockley M. (2013). Insects as Huan Food. Mass Production of Beneficial Organisms, 651. Retrieved from https://allthingsbugs.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Insects-as-Human-Food-Dossey_Shockley_Book_Chapter_2014.pdf
Dossey, A. T. (2013, February 1). Why Insects Should Be in Your Diet | The Scientist Magazine®. Retrieved from http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/34172/title/Why-Insects-Should-Be-in-Your-Diet/
Griffiths, S. (2015, April 17). Insects may be nutritious but not alternative to meat | Daily Mail Online. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3043876/Phew-Insects-AREN-T-future-food-Crickets-nutritious-not-green-alternative-meat-researchers-claim.html
Halloran, A., & Vantomme, P. (2013). A feed alternative. The contribution of insects to food security, livelihoods and the environment, 4. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/docrep/018/i3264e/i3264e00.pdf
Howard, E. (2015, November 5). Insects should be part of a sustainable diet in future, says report | Environment | The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/05/eating-insects-should-part-sustainable-diet-future-report
Ipatenco, S. (n.d.). The Nutrition Values of Edible Bugs & Insects | Healthy Eating | SF Gate. Retrieved from http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/nutrition-values-edible-bugs-insects-9602.html
Shockley, M., & Dossey, A. T. (2014). Insects for human consumption. Mass Production of Beneficial Organisms. London: Elsevier, 617-52.
