5 ms·

Why is it I have no problems eating shrimp or lobster, but the thought of insects disgusts me? Shrimp and lobster are crustaceans which are arthropods just like

Why is it I have no problems eating shrimp or lobster, but the thought of insects disgusts me? Shrimp and lobster are crustaceans which are arthropods just like insects.

ori_b 15y ago
Culture.
landhar 15y ago
Indeed, that's the thought that got me to rationalize my disgust for tasting insects when I was living in Thailand. If I had no problem trying the spicy salad with live shrimps why should I think twice about eating the grilled grasshopers ? You can even extend this reasoning to most delicacies of the sea, clams and oysters don't look any better.
StavrosK 15y ago
Thank you, I tell everyone how disgusting shrimp and lobster are (they're essentially sea cockroaches!) but they don't seem to mind.
seanalltogether 15y ago
Because one provide a large continuous chunk of meat, and the other doesn't? Also are insects gutted or do you end up eating their entire intestinal track?
- raldi 15y ago
  Clams, oysters, and mussels aren't gutted.
  - pygy_ 15y ago
    ... and neither are crustaceans. They're mollusks, and they're delicious when properly cooked (especially mussels, if you ever visit the north of France, Belgium or the Netherlands, you'll miss something if you don't try them). I find oysters disappointing though, especially for their high price. They're just textureless, wet salty things. French people also eat snails. With truckloads of garlic, to mask the dirt taste, they're quite nice to eat too.
- sliverstorm 15y ago
  Yeah, I think if we were used to having various animals whole on the table (even if we didn't eat certain parts) it would be easier to face a cricket on your plate. I remember when I was little, I enjoyed fish- but my family once visited a fairly authentic Chinese restaurant, and ordered fish which came with the head and tail attached... I had such a hard time eating any with those empty eye-sockets staring at me.
djackson 15y ago
Don't you end up eating the digestive system of the bug along with the rest of it? The sticking point for me is not that the animal is a bug, but that I am eating its waste. Never having eaten bugs, I'm not sure how exactly this works out. When eating shrimp and lobster, you are typically eating the processed muscle mass (and shell, if you are into that), rather than the whole animal in one bite.
- icyhandofcrap 15y ago
  Typically wild insects meant for food are allowed to eat flour or corn meal for a couple of days in order to flush their digestive systems of whatever they may have been eating before. This isn't as big of an issue for farmed insects.
  - djackson 15y ago
    It's not about what they eat, it's about what it becomes in the digestive system.
tokenadult 15y ago
I'm sure it's entirely cultural (I've lived in two very distinct cuisine cultures) and thus entirely irrational, but I like to eat living things from saltwater much better than things from fresh water. Crustaceans tend to be oceanic, while insects are terrestrial. That difference makes some difference in my thinking about them.

Why is it I have no problems eating shrimp or lobster, but the thought of insects disgusts me? Shrimp and lobster are crustaceans which are arthropods just like insects.

ori_b 15y ago

Culture.

landhar 15y ago

Indeed, that's the thought that got me to rationalize my disgust for tasting insects when I was living in Thailand. If I had no problem trying the spicy salad with live shrimps why should I think twice about eating the grilled grasshopers ? You can even extend this reasoning to most delicacies of the sea, clams and oysters don't look any better.

StavrosK 15y ago

Thank you, I tell everyone how disgusting shrimp and lobster are (they're essentially sea cockroaches!) but they don't seem to mind.

seanalltogether 15y ago

Because one provide a large continuous chunk of meat, and the other doesn't? Also are insects gutted or do you end up eating their entire intestinal track?

raldi 15y ago
Clams, oysters, and mussels aren't gutted.
- pygy_ 15y ago
  ... and neither are crustaceans. They're mollusks, and they're delicious when properly cooked (especially mussels, if you ever visit the north of France, Belgium or the Netherlands, you'll miss something if you don't try them). I find oysters disappointing though, especially for their high price. They're just textureless, wet salty things. French people also eat snails. With truckloads of garlic, to mask the dirt taste, they're quite nice to eat too.
sliverstorm 15y ago
Yeah, I think if we were used to having various animals whole on the table (even if we didn't eat certain parts) it would be easier to face a cricket on your plate. I remember when I was little, I enjoyed fish- but my family once visited a fairly authentic Chinese restaurant, and ordered fish which came with the head and tail attached... I had such a hard time eating any with those empty eye-sockets staring at me.

djackson 15y ago

Don't you end up eating the digestive system of the bug along with the rest of it? The sticking point for me is not that the animal is a bug, but that I am eating its waste. Never having eaten bugs, I'm not sure how exactly this works out. When eating shrimp and lobster, you are typically eating the processed muscle mass (and shell, if you are into that), rather than the whole animal in one bite.

icyhandofcrap 15y ago
Typically wild insects meant for food are allowed to eat flour or corn meal for a couple of days in order to flush their digestive systems of whatever they may have been eating before. This isn't as big of an issue for farmed insects.
- djackson 15y ago
  It's not about what they eat, it's about what it becomes in the digestive system.

tokenadult 15y ago

I'm sure it's entirely cultural (I've lived in two very distinct cuisine cultures) and thus entirely irrational, but I like to eat living things from saltwater much better than things from fresh water. Crustaceans tend to be oceanic, while insects are terrestrial. That difference makes some difference in my thinking about them.