FFS 008 - Edible Insects: the diet of tomorrow?

This week, we discuss the exciting world of edible insects with Robert Nathan Allen (RNA) from Little Herds. Little Herds is an educational non-profit based in Austin, Texas teaching and spreading awareness about edible insects as a resource efficient, economically viable, nutritious and delicious food for us to eat, and as feed for the animal products that we consume. We discuss the enormous potential of edible insects: how incorporating them into Western diets and food systems could help us meet the current and future nutritional and environmental demands and needs of a growing world population. In this episode, you'll hear all about: what edible insects are RNA's love story with bugs The historical and cultural significance of edible insects across societies and cultures Western taboos towards insects and how we can overcome them first impressions and how they taste as I try them live on air! the nutritional benefits of edible insects compared to other livestock the resource efficiency of edible insects (feed conversion ratio, land and water use) the ethical argument for eating insects insects as feed for the livestock we eat  criticisms and concerns about edible insects RNA's tips, tricks and suggestions about edible insects Links: RNA's Little Herds Website The insects I ate from Jimini's Edible insects company UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) 2013 'Edible insects: Future prospects for food and feed security' UC Davis Study. Lundy & Parrella (2015) 'Crickets are not a Free Lunch: Protein Capture from Scalable Organic Side-Streams via High-Density Populations of Acheta domesticus'