5 ms·

Perhaps "land shrimp"? Seriously, I agree that putting the word "bugs" in the name of the products does not bode well for attracting any but the adventurous and

Perhaps "land shrimp"? Seriously, I agree that putting the word "bugs" in the name of the products does not bode well for attracting any but the adventurous and novelty-seeking Americans/Europeans.

patio11 15y ago
Even worse, they're describing it as chicken nugget replacements: i.e. for those people who are too poor to buy McNuggets now you can get fat on BugNuggets. I'd have difficulty coming up with a less appealing narrative for food if I tried.
- burgerbrain 15y ago
  What do you suggest as affordable and practical sources of protein for poor people?
  - patio11 15y ago
    Are we talking Africa poor or American poor? For Americans: beef, pork, chicken, fish, or anythig else. At the top of the list of problems poor Americans don't have: dang, poverty is greatly restricting my protein and calorie intake. For everybody else, seaweed, legumes, or whatever. You really don't need Western levels of protein consumption, as evidenced by e.g. it being a minuscule portion of the traditional diets of Non-Western nations without peacetime food problems, like, say, Japan. Plus after they're rich they can overconsume meat like we do. It practically defines being a rich country when your local poor people eat meat regularly.
    - burgerbrain 15y ago
      I'm talking about Americans working 2 or 3 jobs who don't have the time, and honestly don't have the money either (yes, such poverty does exist in the US, perhaps you are just lucky enough to have not encountered it...) needed to cook meals with sufficient nutrient value for their (often quite large...) family. The result of this is that malnutrition is a very real problem among children of poor families. The worst part about this is the problem is infectious. Children that grow up without proper nutrition will be intellectually and physically stunted, dramatically increasing the chances that when they eventually have a family their children will end up the same way. Statements like "local poor people eat meat regularly." are just flat out ignorant. I've known families that save up for bulk rice. "Seaweed, legumes or whatever" is so unrealistic it is absurd. People with time and money have those luxuries.
      - thegoatrope 15y ago
        I go to a largely agricultural school, and that's actually one of the programs they have. Legumes are both nutritious and fairly easy to grow, so are great for small farming communities where protein deficiency is rampant. Animals are used for their products like eggs and milk to sell at market and not used for protein. I'm not really poor, but legumes are much cheaper than meat and have extended my own budget, so I think it can apply for families in America as well. I mostly agree with what you said, with the addendum that poor Americans do have the tendency to buy cheap, bulk process foods for the same reason they wouldn't be able to afford "Seaweed, legumes or whatever". I'm not saying that families who need to save money for rice do this, but families with a little more money seem to always have alot of processed food.
      - patio11 15y ago
        Statements like "local poor people eat meat regularly." are just flat out ignorant. http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/1990/09/how-poor-are-americas-poor http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/1990/09/how-poor-ar... Search for "Food Consumption of Poor Children", read the following two paragraphs. USDA data shows poor people eat a) more protein than non-poor people (yes, really), b) more meat than average citizens of many rich nations (like Japan or the UK), and c) vastly more meat than average citizens of Mexico/Brazil/etc.
        ambler0 15y ago
        You do realize that the "research" you cite comes from an ultra-rightwing think tank, right? They have a longstanding agenda of trying to make people believe that poverty doesn't exist in America.
        tptacek 15y ago
        Uh huh. http://www.fns.usda.gov/oane/MENU/Published/CNP/FILES/NHANES-NSLP.pdf http://www.fns.usda.gov/oane/MENU/Published/CNP/FILES/NHANES... Data from the National School Lunch Program suggests the same thing. Protein deficiency is not statistically a challenge faced by Americans living below the poverty line. You can disagree with Heritage's politics (I certainly do), but it's naive to suggest that they're simply fabricating their underlying data.

Perhaps "land shrimp"? Seriously, I agree that putting the word "bugs" in the name of the products does not bode well for attracting any but the adventurous and novelty-seeking Americans/Europeans.

patio11 15y ago

Even worse, they're describing it as chicken nugget replacements: i.e. for those people who are too poor to buy McNuggets now you can get fat on BugNuggets. I'd have difficulty coming up with a less appealing narrative for food if I tried.

burgerbrain 15y ago
What do you suggest as affordable and practical sources of protein for poor people?
- patio11 15y ago
  Are we talking Africa poor or American poor? For Americans: beef, pork, chicken, fish, or anythig else. At the top of the list of problems poor Americans don't have: dang, poverty is greatly restricting my protein and calorie intake. For everybody else, seaweed, legumes, or whatever. You really don't need Western levels of protein consumption, as evidenced by e.g. it being a minuscule portion of the traditional diets of Non-Western nations without peacetime food problems, like, say, Japan. Plus after they're rich they can overconsume meat like we do. It practically defines being a rich country when your local poor people eat meat regularly.
  - burgerbrain 15y ago
    I'm talking about Americans working 2 or 3 jobs who don't have the time, and honestly don't have the money either (yes, such poverty does exist in the US, perhaps you are just lucky enough to have not encountered it...) needed to cook meals with sufficient nutrient value for their (often quite large...) family. The result of this is that malnutrition is a very real problem among children of poor families. The worst part about this is the problem is infectious. Children that grow up without proper nutrition will be intellectually and physically stunted, dramatically increasing the chances that when they eventually have a family their children will end up the same way. Statements like "local poor people eat meat regularly." are just flat out ignorant. I've known families that save up for bulk rice. "Seaweed, legumes or whatever" is so unrealistic it is absurd. People with time and money have those luxuries.
    - thegoatrope 15y ago
      I go to a largely agricultural school, and that's actually one of the programs they have. Legumes are both nutritious and fairly easy to grow, so are great for small farming communities where protein deficiency is rampant. Animals are used for their products like eggs and milk to sell at market and not used for protein. I'm not really poor, but legumes are much cheaper than meat and have extended my own budget, so I think it can apply for families in America as well. I mostly agree with what you said, with the addendum that poor Americans do have the tendency to buy cheap, bulk process foods for the same reason they wouldn't be able to afford "Seaweed, legumes or whatever". I'm not saying that families who need to save money for rice do this, but families with a little more money seem to always have alot of processed food.
    - patio11 15y ago
      Statements like "local poor people eat meat regularly." are just flat out ignorant. http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/1990/09/how-poor-are-americas-poor http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/1990/09/how-poor-ar... Search for "Food Consumption of Poor Children", read the following two paragraphs. USDA data shows poor people eat a) more protein than non-poor people (yes, really), b) more meat than average citizens of many rich nations (like Japan or the UK), and c) vastly more meat than average citizens of Mexico/Brazil/etc.
      - ambler0 15y ago
        You do realize that the "research" you cite comes from an ultra-rightwing think tank, right? They have a longstanding agenda of trying to make people believe that poverty doesn't exist in America.
        tptacek 15y ago
        Uh huh. http://www.fns.usda.gov/oane/MENU/Published/CNP/FILES/NHANES-NSLP.pdf http://www.fns.usda.gov/oane/MENU/Published/CNP/FILES/NHANES... Data from the National School Lunch Program suggests the same thing. Protein deficiency is not statistically a challenge faced by Americans living below the poverty line. You can disagree with Heritage's politics (I certainly do), but it's naive to suggest that they're simply fabricating their underlying data.