The Problem: Insects have been put forward as an eco-friendly protein alternative to meat but not many people (in the western world at least) want to eat them.
The Solution: Don’t sell insects whole, break them down into parts like meat is to make them more digestible.
For many of us, the prospect of eating insects does not hold much allure. This is often driven by the perception of insects as dirty and, I would suggest, because we are asked to eat them whole; that includes their brains and intestines.
Most people in the West do not eat every part of the animals they consume as meat. For example, in Britain many of the parts of the pigs killed for the meat industry we do not eat, such as trotters, are sent to Asia where they are considered a delicacy. Similarly, we do not eat chicken feet, even though they are prized in many other countries.
The reluctance to eat insects is therefore understandable; they are seen as dirty anyway, and people are being asked to eat them whole, brains, intestines and everything else included.
It would seem to be more effective to take the same approach to meat and sell insects in parts rather than whole; like you have chicken wings in batter, you could have locust wings in batter, too (you’d obviously need lots of locust wings within the batter otherwise it would be tiny). Cricket legs could also be a delicacy, added like onions into a sandwich for extra flavour.
This would not solve the issue for everyone, but it opens up the opportunity to change the perception of insects and make them appear more like conventional meat sources people are used to. Chefs can then start using specific parts of insects in their recipes and help create trends that entice people to adopt consumption. The leftover bits of insects can then be used to create mince and sausages, the traditional homes for lower quality cuts.
Furthermore, by starting to put components of insects in dishes, as opposed to being eaten purely by themselves, the texture and tastes can be more nuanced and help make eating them more attractive and help lead to wider scale adoption.
Perhaps it will not be long until cricket legs are one of the toppings of a meat feast pizza…
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