Graeme Hamilton
Friday, Aug. 8, 2014
Crickets are referred to as a gateway bug, one insect-eater says. “They’re very easy to eat. Their flavour profile is a little like cashews.” Fotolia
MONTREAL — Insects generally prompt Canadians to reach for the fly swatter or bug spray, but at an international meeting this month in Montreal, academics and entrepreneurs will argue we should be licking our chops instead
Inspired by a 2013 report from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization hailing insects as “healthy, nutritious alternatives to mainstream staples such as chicken, pork, beef and even fish,” a growing number of North American enthusiasts are promoting six-legged protein.
“Edible insects really are the quintessential urban agriculture product,” said Aruna Antonella Handa of Toronto, an organizer of Eating Innovation: the Art, Science, Culture and Business of Entomophagy, the conference taking place in Montreal Aug. 26-28. “They do not need a lot of land, they do not need a lot of water and they produce very few emissions. . . . In the same way that we’ve now seen microbreweries spring up in cities, I’d like to see things like that for edible insects.”
