"Man Dies after Cockroach-eating Competition" reports that after he won the first prize python at a local pet shop by "scoffing dozens of the live insects and worms in Florida" (2012), Edward Archbold, who had accepted legal responsibility for his own actions, died.
This contest is, as the BBC's headlines describe it, "unorthodox", although adjectives such as weird, kooky and peculiar also came to my mind. Then I started to wonder about the health benefits of cockroaches and worms. I suspect that both are probably very good sources of protein, and if bred in hygienic conditions, are perfectly clean, safe, and at least as healthy as beef, chicken pork, horse and red ants. In fact, for a planet stressed by the enormous economic cost of producing expensive meat from large animals like pigs, ducks, cows and kangaroos, the worms and cockroaches are probably far more efficient sources of healthy protein. It would seem that people who advocate lowering carbon emissions in response to global warming and our ecologically destructive food habits should switch to eating worms and cockroaches, if they don't give up meat altogether.
Thankfully, I'm not that sort of environmentally concerned person. I do think the environment needs urgent action, but I am also convinced that more, not less, science-based technological intervention is needed to solve the growing problems we humans have created. For example, more intensive farming of genetically modified crops can produce far more food from the same land and resources than the extremely wasteful and ecologically greedy organic and traditional farming techniques: scientists and big businesses tend to make much better use of scarce resources than small farmers following traditional practices and not using modern chemicals and species.
And now I've forgotten to talk about the whether such idiotic contests should be banned or not, which was what I had in mind when I started this piece of response writing. But there are the comments ...
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And although it's short, I was pleased to be able to summarize the whole article in just one sentence - without cheating by using coordinating conjunctions to string independent clauses one after the other.
ReplyDeleteMy grandma always cooked locusts as a snack, every time when I visited her. They were crisp and nice taste cooked with sugar and soy source for more than one hour. It’s a kind of traditional food of the countryside where my grandma lived, and also a wisdom of ancestors, to get rid of the insect which eat rice, and to get some protein from them, because eating meat was officially forbidden during Edo era(1603~1867) in Japan.
ReplyDeleteI think everybody can eat what they want, but I don’t like much of hearty eating competition, because I think it’s a waste of food, and the competitors don’t seem to enjoy eating. When I eat, I’d like to feel the food delicious, and I find the food delicious, especially when I don’t eat too much of it.
It sounds that is your favorite dish, isn't it, Peter? Even many fierce anminal like tigers, alligators and bears have been hunt by human as us;therefore, little creatures like worms, lizards, and bugs have been preyed. Beyond that, we can separate or avoid poison gland off many poisonous animal like snakes, toads or puffers in order to serving a delicious dish. I cannot argrue that these kinds of food are good sources of protein.
ReplyDeleteAbout six months ago, I went to Chiangrai and visited Lao boarder to shop Laoish gifts. The most wonderful thing is some parts of tiger bodies in whiskey and the shopkeeper explained how benefits there are if you tried it. I knew that in Thailand might have this kind of whiskey, but I have never seen it. I have only seen some snake or scorpion bodies in whiskey. My mother always say it can heal some pain because it has said and transferred from person to person in the past up to now. If I opposed her, I would have had a long arguement. Therefore, I stayed quietly. I believe in some ancient medication, but alcohol is not good for health.
I also often shut up when my mother is going on with nonsense. Some of her totally wrong beliefs don't matter that much and, as Aor says, it's better to avoid some arguments. But sometimes my 82 year old mother says things that are not only wrong but offensive, and then I do sometimes say something. For example, she tends to blame new immigrants to Australia for taking jobs from unemployed Australians, which is totally false (the new immigrants create demand and new jobs), and also morally obnoxious, so I so try to point out gently that she is completely wrong. At least it's good for her to realise that not everyone is going to let her talk ugly rubbish just because she is an old woman. Respect does not require tolerating false and ugly rubbish.
DeleteThis article leaves me very disgusting! In my culture we NEVER eat insects. I cannot imagine doing this! I think these animals doesn't criated to be eaten for human beings... it is so disgusting! In my graduation, I didn't study about the nutrition of insects, but I don't think that eat insects can be healthy.
ReplyDeleteThere is a small village in a bif forest in Chiang Mai. People eat many kind of insects to live their lives, such as Cicada, Grasshopper, beetle and etc,.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, they eat its for living and also it is a traditional which happens for long time ago. They are quitte poor, so they look for meals from everywhere around them.