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Patrick Murphy

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Buggin' Out: Urban Bug Farming for the Future





Why Insects Should Be in Your Diet By Aaron T. Dossey

The Cricket Bigger Than Beef By Claire Lemarchand


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    Jun 4 2013: I think my cultural hesitation to eating bugs differs from most people in our class and our country. I can see the potential environmental benefits compared to other forms of meat production, which make a very compelling argument, but I can't help but think about the vast quantities of lives that will be exploited for food. I was raised Buddhist, and thus was taught that all sentient beings are valuable. Though my brother eats meat, he tries to eat beef more often than chicken because one cow can feed more people. The cultural barrier I face stems from the sheer number of bugs that will be raised to be food.

    If the concern is using land more efficiently to feed people, the answer is simple to me: vegetarianism.

    Here's an interesting and short article about different vegan/vegetarian responses to insect eating: http://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/blogs/eating-insects-vegans-and-vegetarians-weigh-in
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      Jun 5 2013: This is a good cultural point I hadn't thought of at all, thanks for sharing that side. However, in the wild, a "natural death" is probably pretty rare for insects, they are primary consumers that countless food webs are built on, so perhaps their value is the nutrition they offer to beings higher up on the food chain.

      Also the level of "sentience" possessed by insects is more comparable to that of a plant than a mammal (plants can respond to stimuli a lot more than some think). To eat anything means extinguishing lives, and i don't know if i think the "soul" of an insect is that much different from that of a veggie, just that insects can move.

      I'm certainly not arguing your views, just sort of pontificating on the matter myself. I suppose this is more of a philosophical, rather than scientific conversation anyway.
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        Jun 5 2013: Hi Ben! I appreciate your response.

        Of course the argument can be made that a natural death would be rare for an insect, or that humans evolved to be omnivores, but my philosophy is that if I can still be healthy (and better to the environment at that) and not eat animals, then I shouldn't.

        Yes, philosophical, but definitely interesting. And on the scientific end of things, there's certainly an argument to be made for straight vegetarianism.

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