The average American eats over 70lbs of red meat each year. I’m not quite that carnivorous but I definitely indulge in my share of beef stew and burgers. It’s awesome that consumers are now looking for their animal products to be “grass-fed” and “cage-free,” but the vast majority of meat here is still “conventionally raised” (quite the euphemism, eh?). And some consumers, like my mom, are constantly complaining about the increase in things like egg prices that result from these changes.
Like I said, I still love a good burger. But the truth is that the meat industry is super unsustainable. The agricultural sector accounts for roughly 18% of all greenhouse gases – that’s more than the entire transportation sector combined! Each pound of edible bee takes about 2,000 gallons of water to produce…woah!
Insects, on the other hand, are extremely resource-efficient, requiring 12X less feed than cows to create the same amount of protein, releasing 80X less methane, and requiring less water and land to raise. It takes only ONE gallon of water to make one pound of edible cricket protein.
Crickets are about 65% protein – and the best kind, with all the essential amino acids. They have a ton o micronutrients like calcium, iron (2.2x the iron of spinach!), and B-vitamins. Insects are a superfood.
Over 80% of the world already consumes insects. It will be an interesting ride for the US to catch on.
