{"id":1170797,"date":"2021-12-29T21:19:37","date_gmt":"2021-12-30T02:19:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1170797"},"modified":"2021-12-29T21:19:39","modified_gmt":"2021-12-30T02:19:39","slug":"vanderbilt-professor-says-bugs-including-fly-larvae-must-be-a-bigger-part-of-the-human-food-chain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/vanderbilt-professor-says-bugs-including-fly-larvae-must-be-a-bigger-part-of-the-human-food-chain\/","title":{"rendered":"Vanderbilt Professor Says Bugs, Including Fly Larvae, \u2018Must Be A Bigger Part Of The Human Food Chain\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">34<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fvanderbilt-professor-says-bugs-including-fly-larvae-must-be-a-bigger-part-of-the-human-food-chain%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1170797&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A Vanderbilt University professor argued that insects must compose a larger share of the world\u2019s food supply.<\/p>\n<p>In an opinion <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/opinion\/articles\/2021-12-17\/why-bugs-must-be-a-bigger-part-of-the-human-food-chain?srnd=opinion-technology-and-ideas&amp;utm_content=view&amp;utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;cmpid%3D=socialflow-twitter-view\">piece<\/a> for Bloomberg, <a href=\"https:\/\/as.vanderbilt.edu\/english\/bio\/amanda-little\/\">Amanda Little<\/a> \u2014 who teaches investigative journalism and science writing at the prestigious university \u2014 lauded the European Union\u2019s recent decision to approve insects for human consumption. According to Little, the move ought to be carried out across the globe:<\/p>\n<p>The approval confers a kind of dignity to the lowly, protein-rich microbeasts that we foolishly dismiss as pests, and delivers a clear signal that the insect proteins industry is poised for significant growth. Above all, it paves the way for an alternative protein source that should play a critical role in feeding a hotter, more populous world.<\/p>\n<p>Before this triggers your gag reflex, let\u2019s be clear: For most consumers, the EU decision won\u2019t translate to bugs in your burgers and mealworms in your macaroni. Yes, insects will play a far more integral role in human food systems going forward, but they won\u2019t likely be a direct form of protein. Instead, they\u2019re becoming an increasingly valuable indirect food source \u2014 a feedstock for poultry, farmed fish, pork and beef which are currently fattened on environmentally costly soy and corn feeds.<\/p>\n<p>Though investors have poured billions into making insects a core food supply for livestock, Little added that American consumers have been hesitant to add the critters to their own diets:<\/p>\n<p>Humans have been consuming edible insects \u2014 from crickets and grasshoppers to fire ants and termites \u2014 since before the dawn of civilization, and 80% of the world\u2019s population throughout Asia, Africa and Latin America, continues to eat bugs today. But U.S. consumers have been slow on the uptake, even as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved insects for human consumption years ago. A niche market has emerged with snack foods such as Chirp Chips and Exo protein bars. And when the FDA approved insects for pet foods earlier this year, brands including Purina began sourcing bugs for their products.<\/p>\n<p>However, Little emphasized the purported environmental benefits of insect consumption \u2014 especially with fly larvae:<\/p>\n<p>The environmental benefits of insect proteins both for human and animal consumption are astounding. Black soldier fly larvae, in particular, hold promise: Known in the industry by the acronym BSFL, these infant bugs serve as high-quality chicken and fish feed and require 1,000 times less land per unit of protein produced compared to soy production, between 50 and 100 times less water, and zero agrochemical inputs.<\/p>\n<p>Little cited an article from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/business\/2019\/07\/03\/maggots-could-revolutionize-global-food-supply-heres-how\/\">The Washington Post<\/a>, which argued that the larvae hold promise for the human food market \u2014 for instance, through protein powders and ingredients for cookies, pasta, and chips. The article called Western consumers\u2019 revulsion to insects \u201cpuzzling,\u201d since crabs and lobsters are \u201creally just giant sea bugs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Beyond the European Union\u2019s recent approval of insect consumption and Little\u2019s opinion piece, American institutions have been pushing alternative protein sources. In a bizarre social media post last month, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/federal-reserve-nudges-americans-to-swap-turkey-for-soy-at-thanksgiving\">suggested<\/a> that soy is a more economically efficient Thanksgiving meal option than turkey.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA Thanksgiving dinner serving of poultry costs $1.42,\u201d said a tweet discussing a Federal Reserve Economic Data blog post. \u201cA soybean-based dinner serving with the same amount of calories costs 66 cents and provides almost twice as much protein.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Conservatives on social media were by no means enthused by the central bank\u2019s tweet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd for Christmas you can have earth worms and cockroaches,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JDVance1\/status\/1462497190576803847\">said<\/a> Republican United States Senate candidate J.D. Vance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNext year it\u2019ll be bugs,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Cernovich\/status\/1462496235642933253\">concurred<\/a> commentator Mike Cernovich.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cQuantitative easing and soy for Thanksgiving,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CynthiaMLummis\/status\/1462485320637812743\">added<\/a> Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY). \u201cLet\u2019s save America from these people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\">member<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Vanderbilt University professor argued that insects must compose a larger share of the world\u2019s food supply. In an opinion piece for Bloomberg, Amanda Little \u2014 who teaches investigative journalism and science writing at the prestigious university \u2014 lauded the European Union\u2019s recent decision to approve insects for human consumption. According to Little, the move &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1170797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1170797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/99"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1170797"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1170797\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1170797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1170797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1170797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}