should I eat bugs?

Exotic grasshoppers are not on the menu at my house

While we were browsing in a Beijing market, my traveling companion spotted BBQ scorpion on a stick for sale (I know scorpions aren't insects, but for food stuff they fit in the 'insect' category in my mind). Each stick held five scorpions glistening with sauce. The possibility of a novel experience took hold and she begged me to try scorpion with her – I didn't*. Although that trip was years ago, recently, everywhere I look someone is writing about eating bugs (there is a lovely account of someone who plunged into bug eating here).

There are plenty of good reasons to substitute some of ones protein needs with buggy-goodness – many of which are outlined here. You can raise an insect based protein source in a small amount of space, perfect for an urban gardener like me. I have no problem producing enough leafy greens for my family and to give away, but I'm short on protein sources. Leaving me to wonder if I should revisit my decision to not eat bugs.

In the past for pet food, we've raised mealworms in the house. Mealworms are non offensive insects who happily live in an aquarium with a thick layer of bran. Their adult form is a flightless beetle – so they don't escape. They're dry, so no smell. They are also edible – I could easily throw a handful of meal worms into my morning smoothie, then blend them in – but I won't.

Even though I intellectually agree with all the pros for eating bugs, I'm not yet ready to do it. I grew up in a culture where bugs are not considered food and even though I'm willing to eat all sorts of things, the thought of bugs as food still grosses me out. Perhaps some day I'll work up the nerve to try eating insects or perhaps not.

How about you?

*Without me, my traveling companion went ahead and bought herself a stick of scorpions. On her first bite, scorpion-juice splattered down the front of my shirt – I never got the stains out of that shirt.