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Ignoring whether people want to eat it, is insect protein really worth it? According to https://entomologytoday.org/2015/04/15/crickets-are-not-a-free-lunch-pro
by FooBarWidget 8y ago
Ignoring whether people want to eat it, is insect protein really worth it? According to https://entomologytoday.org/2015/04/15/crickets-are-not-a-free-lunch-protein-conversion-rates-may-be-overestimated/ https://entomologytoday.org/2015/04/15/crickets-are-not-a-fr..., it's about as efficient as chicken. And for insects to produce high-quality protein they need high-quality feed.
I had an insect burger lately, consisting of crickets and mealworms. It was a large amount of critters but with a pathetic amount of protein for a relatively large surface area. It didn't feel as fulfilling as a burger. That's when it made me wonder whether it's really that efficient.
- Pfhreak 8y agoI'd be willing to bet there are people who would gladly trade in an equally efficient organism that's lower order cognitively. The mistreatment of animals is why many folks prefer to avoid meat. So while it might not be worth it from an protein-production-efficiency standpoint, it might be worth it from a cruelty-efficiency standpoint.
- lookACamel 8y agoThat's when it made me wonder whether it's really that efficient. It's probably not. The reason why cultures around the world have historically eaten insects is not because insects are easy to farm but because they are easy to gather from a wild environment. Large scale insect farming as a replacement for other sorts of large scale farming kind of misses the whole point.