This week on the Local Food Report, an expert makes his case for Cape Cod to raise and eat more "micro-livestock," better known to you and me as insects.
Escher Cattle thinks bugs should be playing a much bigger role in Cape Cod food and farming.
"Consumers are actually more open to it than you would think," he says.
Escher comes equipped with facts. He’s a trained entomologist with the Cape Cod Cooperative Extension in Barnstable County. He also promises a little tasting session at the end of his talk in a Chatham library.
"So today I have brought some cricket powder brownies, and then I also have just straight up roasted meal worms," he tells the audience.
Back to that in a moment. First, Escher lays out practical reasons for raising insects to feed both animals and humans.
"They're extremely nutritious,” he says. “They are high in antioxidants, in vitamins like vitamin B and riboflavin. They've got a ton of minerals in them.The material that they're made of, chitin, is actually very high in dietary fiber. And they're chock full of protein--about 60 percent more protein by volume than a bunch of traditional protein sources. And they're extremely low in carbohydrates.”
One advantage over meat and eggs: they have a long shelf life in comparison.
And, in an era of climate change, Escher says small is beautiful when it comes to insects’ environmental footprint.
"They have lower resource needs,” he says. “They have vastly fewer space needs. It takes about 2,000 gallons of water to produce a pound of beef, but it only takes about one gallon of water to create one pound of crickets. I cannot stress enough, you could be raising these in very large Tupperware."
Insects don’t emit anywhere near as much methane as cattle herds, pound for pound.
Escher says insect farming is somewhat common in parts of Central America, Africa and Asia.It hasn't caught on here on the Cape because a lot of people still think bugs are gross.He’s trying to overcome that with educational talks like this one.
There are signs consumers may already be willing to accept the idea of farming insects as feed for larger farm animals.
"There is a study in the last couple years that polled farmers and consumers,” he says. “The consumers said that they would be willing to pay more for eggs and milk that included the benefits of using insects as either supplemental or entire feed. Because of those extra protein benefits, those mineral benefits, all of those different nutritional benefits."
More poultry farmers are looking at raising black soldier flies. The flies eat ordinary food waste, and the containers are built so that larvae drop out and into a chicken coop. It’s a high-protein, sustainable snack for the birds.
"The impact of integrating black soldier fly larvae into poultry diets can be really great,” he says. “Laying hens consuming black soldier fly larvae as part of, or all of their feed can have a 62 percent increase in egg production, which also includes richer yolks and harder shells. And broilers that have been raised on black soldier fly larvae have exhibited a 10 percent greater weight gain than those on traditional feeds."
The waste from insect farming can be used to create a potent, and possibly lucrative, soil amendment called "frass."
There are plenty of positive data points in favor of "micro-livestock" as far as farming goes. But can bugs really be food?As in, food for you and me?
"Anybody want to try some bugs?” Escher asks the group. Come on up!"
As promised, Escher has brought in some home-baked brownies made with cricket flour. Looking at the pan, it's easy to forget bugs are involved. Less so, with his snack bag of roasted mealworms.
"They're not spiced or anything, so you're really going to get that kind of nutty flavor."
It's an adventurous group. Folks are trying both items, and the reviews are positive.
"This brownie is extraordinarily good,” one audience member says. “It's moist, it's tasty, and it would be a fine dessert in any good restaurant here in Chatham.”
I asked if the high-quality is due to the crickets.
“Well, it’s not singing to me if that's what you're asking," they respond.
Another big selling point for cricket brownies, besides the protein boost, is that the mixes tend to be gluten free.
There's a former Boston Globe food critic in the mix, and she seems to have taken a liking to the roasted mealworms.
"It’s like eating an elongated Rice Krispie,” she says. “Not the bland sweetness of a Rice Krispie--it's a little more savory but not intense. And if you want crunch, I think it's as good as a potato chip, even though it's a different shape. You know, if you're into beer, craft beer and meal worms, why not?"
Beyond the widespread “ick factor,” insect farming on Cape Cod has a bit of problem getting established. You could say it's not there, because it's not there. There are no real grant programs set up yet to help kickstart would-be insect farmers.
That’s why Escher says he'll keep teaching anyone who will listen--and keep baking brownies.
Here are some ideas for baking with crickets:
https://3cricketeers.com/blogs/recipes
https://bugvivant.com/edible-insect-recipes/
Here are some providers of roasted mealworms for snacking:
https://www.edibleinsects.com/edible-insects-bugs/
