GREEN KITCHEN EXPERIMENTS
GREEN KITCHEN EXPERIMENTS C H E F TO M B U R N E Y of I N V I S I B L E K I TC H E N investigates new methods for cooking in greener ways
E N TO M O P H AG Y Eating insects as a major source of protein opens up a big can of worms T H I S T E R M, E N TO M O P H AG Y, R E F E R S TO T H E ACT O F H U M A N S E AT I N G I N S E CT S. I T M AY B E CA L L E D T H E F U T U R E O F F O O D B U T T H E P RACT I C E I S S O O L D T H E A N C I E N T G R E E K S CO I N E D A W O R D F O R I T.
On average, crickets need 1 gallon of water
per pound of ‘meat’ produced. Beef requires almost 2,700 gallons per pound.
I’ve just spent a month avoiding all animal and fish proteins- cooking and eating a range of new-to-me ‘alternative’ (non-animal) proteins from the conventional to the less-so. There’s an eruption of ‘plant-based ‘meats’ and fishless ‘fish’ to be tried as well as a range of more traditional plant-based and microbial protein sources such as chickpeas, tofu, almonds and nutritional yeast (aka ‘Nooch’) that range from 12-22% protein content.
Crawling out of mainstream products, and
packing a mighty 66% protein, there is an ingredient which will divide any room. In fact they are most likely already lurking in the corner of your room already- with some of the highest sustainability credentials of any protein-source. That’s right, insects.
Although insects are normally plant-based
in location they are not a vegetarian ingredient; but eating insects could be much more aligned with your
food ideology than you may have realised. People are
greenhouse gases (routinely emitted in agricultural
Insects produce far less ammonia and
cutting down on meat intake for a combination of health,
protein production).
ethical, and environmental reasons and producing insects
for food is pound-for-pound one of the most sustainable
naturally live in clusters with thousands of close
protein sources on Earth.
neighbours, so don’t mind being packed in tight spaces.
In terms of animal welfare concerns, insects
There is also no evidence that insects feel pain but to be H O W A R E T H E Y S U S TA I N A B L E?
sure they are harvested by lowering the temperature until
they go into a hibernation-like state so for all they know
Insects are pretty much bottom of our food
chain, meaning they are the ones that turn our world’s
they could wake up a butterfly!
‘waste’ products into something with nutritional value.
Generally they eat decaying plant-matter and produce a
more iron than raw spinach, more calcium than milk, 5
high protein snack for birds or other creatures, using very
times the omega-3 of Salmon and 20 times more vitamin
little water, space and energy along the way.
B12 than eggs (with half the fat). 30
Crickets contain 3 times the protein of beef,
