♪ ♪
NARRATOR: The future of food
is being revolutionized by science...
...as new research helps bring
unexpected ingredients to the table.
Kind of tastes like shrimp.
They have this seafood quality to them.
It reminds you of, like, a Frito or a chip.
VALERIE STULL: Just, like, crunchy and a little oily and a little salty.
They taste like popcorn.
JESSICA WARE: A very smushy taste.
Like a pudding, almost.
JOSEPH YOON: The citrusy flavor,
it's so incredible.
NARRATOR: Researchers are revealing
these delicious ingredients could do wonders for our health.
TANYA LATTY: They're full of polyunsaturated fat,
they're full of protein, and they have a whole range
of trace minerals and micronutrients.
STULL: Potential prebiotic effects
and potential reductions in gut inflammation.
Those two things are very exciting.
NARRATOR: So what are these miraculous foodstuffs?
Well, they're insects!
Thousands of edible species
in all shapes and sizes.
It is gastronomy in the highest form.
Amen.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR: Not everyone is convinced.
What I would say to anyone that's nervous
is, I'm right there with you still.
I'm right there with you still.
NARRATOR: But some researchers believe
that chowing down on insects
could have made our species smarter.
JULIE LESNIK: Our brains run on fat.
That extra fat in their diet contributed to supporting
this little bit larger brain.
NARRATOR: And in the future, eating insects
may help save us from ecological catastrophe.
To produce more meat
than we already do is incredibly problematic.
STULL: The mass production
and the way that we're doing it now
is simply unsustainable.
LATTY: Insects offer so much promise.
They potentially could feed the world.
NARRATOR: But to make this change a reality,
scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs
must crack the secrets of insect farming.
Insect agriculture has the potential
to radically transform the way we produce food
around the world.
KEIRAN WHITAKER: It only takes nine to 12 days
to turn what is a grain of sand
into an inch-long protein bar.
Automation fits so nicely
with this type of farming.
NARRATOR: But will all this be enough
to persuade people
to change their ways...
So that, I can see the bugs.
NARRATOR: and learn to love the bug?
MIKE RAUPP: On the count of three,
we're going to go for it.
Ready?
One, two, three.
Cheers!
(whimpers)
NARRATOR: Welcome to the wonderful world
of "Edible Insects."
(crunches)
NARRATOR: Right now on "NOVA."
♪ ♪
(birds chirping)
NARRATOR: Our planet is teeming with life.
♪ ♪
But one of branch of the family tree
is often overlooked:
insects.
♪ ♪
I've always loved insects, as long as I can remember.
When I was a kid,
I used to run around my neighborhood
collecting insects and bringing them home
to show my mom.
I think they're just amazing and fantastic animals.
NARRATOR: Entomologist Tanya Latty
has been obsessed with insects for years.
And with good reason:
insects are everywhere.
Two-thirds of known animal species
are insects.
For every one of us,
there are over a billion of them.
They've survived and thrived on Earth
for nearly half a billion years.
And they've adapted to almost every possible ecological niche.
LATTY: Insects are the most diverse animals on the planet.
There are millions of species.
There are so many species
that we're not even sure of the exact number.
NARRATOR: Either alone
or in vast colonies,
insects are a secret force
that regulates our world.
They pollinate, clean up,
and keep the rest of nature in balance.
They help make our world tick.
LATTY: We tend to overlook insects,
and that's a great shame, because without them,
our ecosystems wouldn't function.
I mean, they do everything.
How can you not love insects?
NARRATOR: But while some people love bugs,
others just love the way they taste.
♪ ♪
To some, the idea of eating insects
may seem strange.
But in places like Thailand,
it's long been a cultural tradition.
♪ ♪
Very good, very good! Delicious!
♪ ♪
(translated): I've got coconut beetle grubs,
crickets, silkworm cocoons, grasshoppers, giant crickets,
and bamboo caterpillars.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR: In Thailand, insect-eating originated
in rural areas.
But over the last few decades,
the culture has spread into the cities,
where urbanites are developing a real taste for them.
♪ ♪
(translated): I usually eat them
when I go out drinking with my friends.
They taste fantastic with beer.
(translated): I eat them as a snack between meals.
They are not scary at all.
They are extremely healthy and natural.
I highly recommend everyone gives them a try.
NARRATOR: Insect-eating isn't unique to Thailand.
Across the globe, over two billion people eat
over 2,000 varieties of insect.
But not every bug makes a good meal.
So which species are the most popular?
At number five, it's the Hemiptera,
including cicadas and water bugs.
By all accounts, they're quite a mouthful.
At number four, it's the Orthoptera,
including locusts, grasshoppers, and crickets.
Hard to catch, but famed for their satisfying crunch.
In at number three, it's the Hymenoptera:
including ants, bees, and wasps.
The venomous ones can give their taste a citrus twist.
At number two, it's the Lepidoptera...
butterflies and moths in their caterpillar state.
In Southern Africa,
millions of these fleshy favorites
are devoured each year.
But at number one,
it's the beetles...
the Coleoptera, especially their juicy larvae.
Together, these grubs and weevils
make up nearly a third of all insect species consumed.
♪ ♪
Insects have been a part of the human diet for millennia.
But scientists are discovering they have a lot more to offer
than just a taste sensation.
So, this is the larva of a scarab beetle.
So, when it gets older,
it's going to look a little bit like a june bug.
NARRATOR: To understand why scientists
are becoming so fascinated
by insect-eating,
this beetle larva is a good place to start,
because its translucent skin allows you to see
what's so special about an insect.
LATTY: If you look closely,
you can see this white stuff.
That's an organ called the fat body.
It's not actually the same as fat.
It's more like a combination of fat and liver.
NARRATOR: Many insects have these spread throughout their bodies,
one of several nourishing insect ingredients
that are impressing scientists.
These are very nutritious.
They are full of polyunsaturated fat,
they're full of protein,
and they have a whole range of
trace minerals and micronutrients.
NARRATOR: Compared to a steak, insects really stack up.
Steak is packed with valuable protein,
iron, fats, and micronutrients.
But whether eaten as a fatty larva or in an adult form,
pound for pound, many bugs equal or better
the nutritional value of the finest steak.
And there could be even more nutritious species out there
just waiting to be discovered.
We've only really started to investigate a tiny number,
and given that huge diversity,
there's a huge likelihood that they could have
all sorts of different nutritional profiles...
Some of which may be excellent for us.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR: Insects are clearly
a great source of nourishment.
And this is leading some researchers to ask:
Was an insect diet key to the evolution
of the exceptional human brain?
♪ ♪
Biological anthropologist Julie Lesnik
is studying a puzzling chapter
in the story of human evolution:
a remarkable increase in the brain size
of our ancient ancestor Australopithecus.
Australopithecus was a small foraging ape
that roamed the African savanna
from just over four million years ago.
But something big is going on with her brain.
From about five million to up to two million years ago,
we have this brain size expansion of about 20%.
NARRATOR: This is a substantial increase.
Its cause remains an evolutionary mystery.
But experts believe it probably took a special diet
to support this larger brain.
Brains are energetically expensive.
And one thing they especially need are fatty acids.
Our brains run on fat,
and fat is a very rare resource naturally in our environment.
So what were they eating?
NARRATOR: It's possible Australopithecus
obtained this fat by scavenging the bodies of larger animals.
But Julie thinks there's an alternative
and more surprising explanation.
Termite mounds pepper the African savanna,
their rock-hard exterior
protecting the fatty larvae within.
Our cousin the chimpanzee forages for termites today
using ingenuity and simple tools
to penetrate the termite fortress.
LESNIK: Chimpanzees can thread into that termite nest
with a flexible probe made of either grass or a green branch,
and the soldier caste bite on to the end of that tool,
and then chimpanzees
extract them from the mound and eat those termites
right off that probe.
NARRATOR: This technique harvests the adult insects.
But to get the fatty larvae,
you must penetrate further into the mound.
Intriguingly, a number of almost
two-million-year-old animal bones
have been unearthed in South Africa.
Their smooth, rounded ends show clear parallel scratches.
Scientists believe these are wear marks
from repeated strikes,
and that the bones are actually Australopithecine tools
used for one specific job.
This is a prototype,
basically, of the types of tools
they were using two million years ago.
A tool like this can get through, especially
if you have a fragment
that has kind of a pointier end
that lets you penetrate it.
We can pretty confidently say
that these bone tools were used to dig into termite mounds.
(pounding)
NARRATOR: Breaking open the mounds
could have given Australopithecines access
to the nutritious fat of the termite larvae:
instant brain food.
By just adjusting a little bit
how they utilize the same resource,
it's probably enough to get them that extra fat in their diet
that contributed to supporting this little bit larger brain.
(insects buzzing)
NARRATOR: Insects may well have
provided our ancestors with key nutrients
at a crucial point in their development.
♪ ♪
But our bodies' relationship with insects
may not have ended in the distant past.
There's growing evidence that an insect diet
may influence more than just our brains.
Recent research suggests that a key process in our bodies
gains significant benefits from eating insects.
Our digestion.
Health scientist Valerie Stull
is fascinated by the microorganisms
that populate our digestive system.
STULL: Gut bacteria are incredibly important to human health.
We actually have more bacterial cells in our bodies
than we do human cells, and they play a huge role
in our overall health and well-being.
NARRATOR: But some strains of gut bacteria are unwelcome guests.
Too many of them make our gut
prone to inflammation and disease...
Even cancer.
There's mounting evidence that some modern Western diets
are upsetting the healthy balance.
STULL: Diets that are very, very high in red
and processed meats can lead to imbalances in gut microbiota.
We know that refined sugars, refined grains
are also not particularly good for promoting
that healthy ecosystem within the gut.
NARRATOR: Valerie wondered whether
the insect diet enjoyed in many parts of the world
could improve gut health.
I wanted to investigate,
what are the potential health impacts
of eating insects beyond just their nutritional composition?
NARRATOR: Valerie gave 20 volunteers
a milkshake to drink once a day for two weeks
as a part of their regular diet.
The milkshakes of half the group
had insects ground and blended into them.
When their gut bacteria was checked,
Valerie discovered the insect shake
was having a noticeable effect.
STULL: We saw potential prebiotic effects
in terms of promoting the growth of healthy bacteria
and potential reductions in gut inflammation.
Those two things are very exciting.
NARRATOR: What could cause these changes?
The answer may not lie with what's inside an insect,
but what's outside it.
Unlike vertebrates,
insects do not rely on an internal skeleton.
Insects don't have bones inside their body.
Instead, they have the support on the outside.
It's a little bit like a suit of armor,
and we call that an exoskeleton.
NARRATOR: It's the material
the exoskeleton is formed from that makes it so special.
The exoskeleton's made out of chitin,
which is this stiff, fibrous material
that gives it the structure.
NARRATOR: It's unclear if humans can digest chitin fiber.
But when ingested,
it appears to stimulate the growth of good gut bacteria
in a way that other dietary fiber may not.
Chitin may be a missing ingredient
that helps generate a healthy, balanced digestive system.
This can relate to so many human health conditions.
We need more variable gut bacteria.
We need abundant populations of these healthy bacteria.
It suggests that in our past,
chitin from insects was probably part of
the natural, normal, basic human diet
that was used to keep a healthy gut.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR: So, in the past,
insects in our diet may have made our species
not just smarter, but healthier, too.
And today, they continue to serve
as an exceptionally nutritious food source.
But some experts claim that eating bugs
could do even more,
and help solve a looming global crisis.
Forecasts predict that by 2050,
the human population will have swelled to over nine billion.
If current eating habits continue,
that would mean a doubling
of meat production.
But that could prove very damaging to our planet.
How we produce meat is awful for the environment.
So to produce more meat than we already do
is incredibly problematic.
NARRATOR: To produce a pound of beef
compared to a pound of corn
takes seven times more water and 100 times more land.
This contributes to droughts and high levels of deforestation.
Many scientists and policy makers are now suggesting
that if we hope to feed everyone,
we need a fundamental change.
STULL: It's not to say that conventional animal agriculture
can't fit in with a sustainable food system,
but the mass production and the way that we're doing it now
is simply unsustainable.
NARRATOR: The answer may lie in exploiting a special ability
found in many invertebrates.
It turns out that insects
have the potential to make protein
far more efficiently than other animals.
The reason lies in their physiology.
LATTY: Animals like mammals and birds are warm-blooded.
So what that means is that we generate
a tremendous amount of body heat.
Insects are a little different.
This is a thermal camera,
and what it'll let us do is detect heat.
NARRATOR: On the image,
Tanya's skin appears red,
meaning it's warm.
As a mammal, she is endothermic,
burning food to generate internal heat.
But the spiny leaf insect appears blue,
meaning it's cool.
It is ectothermic.
Ectothermic refers to the fact that some organisms
are unable to generate body heat.
If it's warm outside,
their bodies are that same temperature.
If it's cold, they're also cold.
NARRATOR: This physiological difference
has a major effect
on the quantity of resources they need to grow.
Since insects aren't wasting energy
trying to keep their bodies warm,
most of the calories they eat can be converted into nutrients
that we could then eat.
So you get a much higher conversion efficiency
with an insect than you would with a mammal.
NARRATOR: When it comes to generating animal protein efficiently,
insects rule.
To produce a pound of beef
requires nearly ten pounds of feed.
But growing a pound of insects needs less than two pounds.
One pound of beef also requires
over 2,000 gallons of water.
But the same weight of insect
can take less than 12 gallons.
LATTY: If you're farming an insect,
you don't need to feed them nearly as much
as you would a mammal of the same size.
Insects offer so much promise.
They are a really accessible form of protein that,
you know, potentially could feed the world.
NARRATOR: The numbers look great.
But can humanity really move from farming pigs,
chickens, and cows
to farming insects?
If we are going to feed billions,
the amount of insect protein needed
will be enormous.
Over 90% of insects consumed today
are foraged from the wild.
The palm weevil...
probably the most popular edible insect of all...
Is harvested from rotting palm trunks.
But natural harvesting like this
could not be scaled to feed billions.
STULL: It's local and it's free.
But really, the way to utilize insects better as a food
is to help people farm them and engage in insect agriculture.
NARRATOR: Change is already happening.
In Thailand,
the last few decades have seen a surge
in start-up insect farms,
led by entrepreneurs like Thanaporn "Kaew" Sae Leaw.
(translated): We heard about insect farming
from our relatives.
They said it's something you can do as a sideline,
without giving up your day job.
In this container,
I've got a batch that are already 15 days old.
Here, let me show you.
NARRATOR: In Thailand, crickets have become
these new farmers' insect of choice.
Because not only does cricket farming
take up very little space,
but their rapid growth allows farmers
to continually harvest year-round.
But there is still a lot to learn.
The field of insect agriculture
is really in its infancy.
So learning to farm insects
at scale to feed lots of people,
we're just now scratching the surface.
NARRATOR: Farming insects
definitely comes with unfamiliar new challenges.
Much of Thanaporn's time is spent
keeping her ectothermic charges
at the correct temperature.
SAE LEAW (translated): We've always got to keep a close eye
on the weather.
Sometimes when it gets too hot,
we have to spray water on the crickets
to cool them down.
NARRATOR: And cattle farmers don't have to deal with
the problem of cannibalism.
(translated): Unfortunately,
if there's not enough food, they do start to eat each other.
That's one of the reasons
we have put in these egg cartons...
it gives the vulnerable ones somewhere to hide
from their voracious companions.
NARRATOR: But it's worth the effort.
With low costs,
low maintenance, and a quick turnover,
Thai farmers are taking to the emerging industry
in the tens of thousands.
(translated): Most of the time,
there aren't enough for us to eat.
We have all sold out.
And if the demand gets any higher,
we might have to expand the farm.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR: With healthy domestic demand for these tasty snacks,
Thailand's insect farms look set to grow.
But what about the U.S.?
How close is America to being conquered by
the insect-eating bug?
(buzzing)
Baltimore, Maryland.
Entomologist Mike Raupp leads his Cicada Crew
on an insect hunt.
RAUPP: So you can see this ancient pin oak tree.
This one's probably been here maybe for 100 years.
NARRATOR: Among the roots of the tree, the soil seems alive.
Periodical cicadas are returning to the surface,
the advance guard of "Brood X."
These insects have spent nearly two decades alone
below ground.
But after 17 years, it's time to breed.
RAUPP: They come out at dusk,
they climb the tree, they try to escape their shells,
then get up to the relative safety
of the treetop.
NARRATOR: Where they mate in their multitudes.
This happens nowhere else on Earth
except right here in the Eastern United States.
And this is the big brood.
DEMIAN NUNEZ: This is what I was hoping for.
I'm just really impressed by the density
that's in this neighborhood.
NARRATOR: Brood X is so famous because
the numbers are phenomenal.
There can be up to 1.5 million of them an acre,
coating every available surface.
Overloading the environment is actually
their survival strategy.
Synchronizing a rare
17-year emergence allows them to outlive some predators
and overwhelm the rest.
(buzzing)
It guarantees their bizarre strategy of predator satiation.
Filling the belly of every predator that wants to eat them
and still having enough left over
to perpetuate their species.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR: Not so long ago,
it wasn't just birds and other small animals
that benefited.
These emerging broods
were once a nutritious windfall
for Indigenous communities.
LESNIK: When we think about,
"Are insects consumed here in North America?"
They were a traditional part of many diets
of many different tribes.
We've lost a lot of this history,
partially because of the removal of these populations
from their native lands.
RAUPP: I know that Indigenous people ate cicadas.
It was a bounty for them.
So from my interest as an entomologist,
I certainly am going to snack on just a few periodical cicadas.
NARRATOR: For a dedicated entomologist,
eating a cicada is a rite of passage.
We're just going to, on the count of three,
we're going to go for it.
You guys ready?
Who's up? (woman speaking indistinctly)
We're all up?
Jessica, are you up?
I'm up.
All right, thumbs up.
Ready? One, two, three.
Cheers!
(whimpers)
Pretty sweet. RAUPP: What's the flavor?
What do you get? Demian?
Slight nuttiness.
It does taste like nut a lot... I wasn't expecting that.
Oh, my God!
NARRATOR: Mike encourages his grad students
to experiment with this insect bounty.
SAENZ: The idea is to, like,
spread the wings a little bit,
so they can, I don't know, like,
like, get crispy,
and then you're just eating the abdomens over here.
That's what I'm thinking.
RAUPP: People eat raw oysters,
they eat raw clams...
creatures that live at the bottom of a bay
and filter you-know-what out of the water.
Now, why wouldn't somebody eat a periodical cicada
that's been sipping plant sap for 17 years?
NARRATOR: The roots of some Americans'
resistance to insect-eating aren't hard to find.
This country's culinary attitudes largely originate
from the prejudices of Northern Europeans.
America was settled by European colonists,
and the bulk of insect diversity is really around the Equator.
It's not in England. (laughs)
LESNIK: So, insects weren't largely available.
The diets in these northern latitudes tend to be
very meat-centric, because that's what's available
to get you through harsh winters.
WARE: Early colonists noted that Native people
in parts of the United States
consumed insects.
But that was considered to be an "other," I think.
That was something that a different group of people ate.
And so I don't think it was widely adopted.
Really good. Yum!
NARRATOR: Hundreds of years later,
some think it's time to move past this culinary bias.
(laughs softly)
NARRATOR: If the global food industry is going to reinvent itself,
many believe the change must start here,
because wealthy countries like the U.S. play a leading role
in setting global attitudes.
It's simply true that our dietary preferences
are driving marketplaces for food trade across the globe.
So I think if we can do nothing else,
if we can change the perception of insects as food in the West,
that would be a positive step forward.
NARRATOR: But that could be a challenge.
Many Americans aren't just neutral towards bugs,
they're horrified by them. (screaming)
NARRATOR: In cultures without a history of eating them,
insects are often associated with decay and disease.
WARE: People often associate flies, for example,
with things that are unclean,
or cockroaches with things that are unclean.
And so nobody really is going to think, "Oh, I...
That's going to be a good food item," if you see something
crawling out of your, your sewer drain.
Having disgust as your first impression
for something you're about to eat,
that's a pretty bad first impression.
NARRATOR: This disgust response might look like an instinctive reaction
to potential threat.
People generally can recognize the disgust face very easily.
In one, the lower jaw drops and the tongue is extended.
And another version,
it's just raising the upper lip, closing the nose a little.
But it's associated with the feeling of nausea.
And that, again, reminds us that disgust
is originally about food,
because nausea is a food rejection sensation
that gets us to stop eating.
NARRATOR: But in reality, compared to other livestock
like cows and pigs,
edible insects are unlikely to carry pathogens
that are harmful to humans because insect physiology
is so different from our own.
Psychologists are now finding that disgust towards insects
is nothing more than a socially acquired response.
WARE: Children are not born
with an innate distaste for insects.
You know, in fact, many young toddlers
would grab an insect, and the first thing they would do
is put it towards their mouth.
There's no innate disgust.
It's almost entirely, I would say, social conditioning.
Getting people to like insects is part of a general problem
of getting people to like anything.
NARRATOR: So, if disgust is more nurture than nature,
is it possible to get mainstream America to love the bug?
New York chef Joseph Yoon is a passionate advocate
for edible insects.
YOON: I'm not saying
that we can save the world by eating insects,
but the idea that we can make small lifestyle choices
that can positively impact the environment
and future generations,
that's of great inspiration and motivation to me.
NARRATOR: Joseph has agreed to run an experiment for "NOVA."
He's constructing a tasting menu designed to see
if some New Yorkers could be converted to insect eating
with a little creative cooking.
YOON: People tend to think in extremes when it comes to edible insects.
They think of insects, something that's gross,
and something that they don't want to eat.
We need to redefine the idea of edible insects
from the ground up.
And it's a matter of shifting perceptions
from insects being gross
to show that they're delicious!
Here are some roasted crickets.
These are black ants that have the formic acid
as a defense mechanism, which gives it a citrusy flavor.
It's so incredible.
These are mealworms that we have here.
These have a nutty, earthy,
umami flavor.
These are chipotle-flavored grasshoppers.
These are wonderful, just, snacks.
NARRATOR: With ingredients like these,
Joseph's task is hard, but not impossible.
♪ ♪
Because America's socially conditioned disgust
has been successfully reversed before.
Just consider your nearest sushi counter.
50 years ago, sushi restaurants were rare in the U.S.
Many Americans were squeamish
about eating uncooked fish.
STULL: It was disgusting... raw fish was disgusting.
Then it, you know, permeated the coasts.
You got it at a fancy restaurant in New York
or San Francisco.
Now you can get sushi at a gas station in Nebraska.
Food culture does change.
NARRATOR: Some experts believe that sushi's breakthrough in the U.S.
was thanks to the creation of the California roll,
where the unfamiliar ingredients are hidden by a rice exterior.
It's all about clever psychology.
So could Joseph leverage this same trick for insects?
While he prepares his menu,
the tasters arrive.
I'm pretty adventurous, yeah, it's exciting, it's fun, yeah.
I'm nervous, but also very excited.
I would consider myself a pretty adventurous eater...
at least a nine out of ten.
I'm actually kind of excited!
Always willing to try something new, and, you know,
push the boundaries.
♪ I like bugs with 16 legs and bugs with lots of eyes ♪
♪ I like spiders that crawl on the floor ♪
♪ And eat up all the flies ♪
A great strategy for trying to convince people
to try edible insects is to incorporate it into food
they already know and love.
To start off,
we have a blueberry hopper muffin
with grasshoppers.
♪ I love bugs that live in the mud ♪
We have azcayo guacamole with black ants,
crickets, citrus,
chili peppers, onions, and garlic.
♪ I like bugs ♪
And then we have pizza cavalletta,
with a locust bolognese, mozzarella,
pecorino romano, and basil.
Bug appétit!
(chuckling): All right, here we go.
NARRATOR: So what will the tasters think?
CHENG: Ooh...
(laughs)
There's a really big one in there.
♪ ♪
(chuckling)
Nice little crunch factor.
(laughs)
You definitely know it's... (laughs)
not a fruit.
This one I'm nervous about. (laughs)
Yeah, so that, I can see the bugs.
GOLDBERG: I'm trying to get, like, the least
intimidating bite.
(laughing, crunching loudly)
So scary! (laughs)
These really look like little bugs, so...
Um, so that part was a little rough.
It doesn't weird me out, because I know that
it's prepared to be eaten, edible.
But if I went probably to a place by my house
and got guacamole and found crickets in it,
I'd have an issue.
Pizza!
Okay.
This one's a little iffy, but I'm going to try it anyway.
I'm going to go for the big bug right there.
I think this is a locust right here.
Okay.
(exhales)
♪ ♪
I think the, the pizza masks
the, the taste of the bugs, so...
I didn't actually
taste much of the locust, which is good.
I don't know if I would order something, seeing something,
a big bug right there.
Maybe if it was not seen as much?
If I think about what I ate, it's...
Challenging. (laughs)
NARRATOR: Despite Joseph's skills, the main courses have produced
a mixed reaction.
So, for dessert, the chef goes one step further.
YOON: A delicious banana bread
with a vanilla buttercream frosting.
Surprise!
There's mealworm powder
in both the banana bread and the frosting.
The psychological advantage
of using insect powder is that you don't have to see it.
(laughing): Amazing!
NARRATOR: Joseph may have struck pay dirt with the powdered insects.
Mm!
That's delicious.
I feel like this one I'm actually
the least intimidated by, because it is, um...
It's powder, so it's... You don't see a physical bug.
You can't taste anything different
than a normal banana bread.
(chuckling): I actually really like that, that's awesome.
That's really delicious.
NARRATOR: Perhaps insect powder is the secret weapon to overcome
America's disgust.
Insect powder is so versatile.
You can add it to your smoothies,
you can add it to soups,
you can add it to sauces.
You can add to your mac and cheese sauce.
You can add it to your fried rice.
You can add insect powder to virtually any type of food.
Because of Americans' attitude towards insects,
I think it's going to be a really successful way
to introduce them to insect protein.
(laughing): I would probably finish this.
NARRATOR: But there's a problem.
Pound for pound,
insect protein producers cannot
currently get close to the prices charged
by their established livestock rivals.
If prices stay as high as they are,
consumers are unlikely to make the switch.
But could science and technology help close the gap?
♪ ♪
Canadian Mohammed Ashour is an insect farmer with big plans.
ASHOUR: We are building the world's densest,
smartest, and largest commercial cricket production
and processing facility.
Insect agriculture has the potential to radically transform
the way we produce food around the world.
NARRATOR: Mohammed runs a start-up company that hopes to bring down
the costs of insect farming.
Their plan is based on research from their R&D facility
in Austin, Texas,
aimed at cracking the code of farming the cricket.
♪ ♪
Chief operating officer
Gabe Mott manages the cricket research project.
MOTT: The high expense of insect protein generally is
predominantly because it's a novel industry.
We need to understand the organisms as, as well as
we possibly can,
provide them exactly what they need to thrive,
and then eventually, begin selective breeding.
NARRATOR: Cows, chickens, and pigs have been selectively bred
as food for millennia.
In contrast, edible insects remain much closer
to their wild origins.
MOTT: The process of selective breeding crickets
has really only just begun,
and there's a, a long way for us to go.
The good news is, we obviously can deal with
much larger herds,
crickets lay vastly more eggs,
their life cycle is shorter,
and we can take advantage
of modern, cutting-edge technology.
We get to apply that from day one, as opposed to centuries
into the breeding process.
NARRATOR: But breeding alone is not enough.
They're trying to figure out
the perfect environment to make the crickets thrive.
They use ten different growing rooms to allow
side-by-side comparisons for different feed, temperature,
and lighting levels.
Hundreds of sensors keep the environment under surveillance.
MOTT: We observe the consequences of manipulations
and changes on the insect biology,
on their physiology, on their health and well-being,
and then adapt and build on that
and adapt and build on that.
NARRATOR: Aspire claims that due to five years
of in-house research and proprietary technology
they've created, they've greatly increased
production efficiency and yield.
MOTT: We saw these, these massive gains.
We were able to shave weeks off the life cycle time,
drastically improve survivability,
and develop an understanding of the optimal density
for cricket colonies.
We now harvest ten times the amount of crickets
from the exact same bin that we did five years ago.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR: Even if that's true, to compete commercially
with industrial livestock producers,
insect farming would need to scale up dramatically.
And this is where insects come with a built-in advantage.
You can't put cattle into a giant racking system.
They're not going to be happy.
Whereas insects are really
almost custom-made perfectly
for automation solutions that exist already.
A robot can just wander around whenever the time is appropriate
and deliver all the feed.
I know to the gram how much feed is being fed,
and I know, effectively to the second,
when that feed is being delivered.
NARRATOR: They believe the combination of higher yields
and intensive automation
may soon allow insect farming to compete directly
with traditional livestock rivals.
ASHOUR: Over the course of the next decade,
insect protein will go from being a really interesting
novel ingredient to being a mainstream protein alternative.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR: Mohammed and Gabe are not the only ones who see the potential.
Across the world, many companies are figuring out
how to farm insects commercially.
If costs continue to drop, cheap, nutritious
insect protein may soon revolutionize
the global food supply system.
♪ ♪
One of the many researchers hoping to contribute to this
burgeoning industry is entomologist Ebony Jenkins,
a doctoral student
at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
JENKINS: With the market booming, I believe that there are
going to be many opportunities.
This is going to open the doors for a lot of people,
and we're going to be seeing
insect-based products soon on our local shelves.
NARRATOR: But Ebony did not grow up loving bugs.
JENKINS: Five years ago, I was deathly afraid of insects.
So I went from
running from them, to chasing them, to eating them.
Now, that's revenge.
(laughs)
NARRATOR: Her focus is on improving insects as a source of nutrition
by modifying what they are fed.
JENKINS: One of my objectives is to understand the optimization
of feed for various insects.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR: Every bug has a different preference.
Mealworms like dried foods, whereas crickets
like vegetables and even animal protein.
But whether they are herbivorous, carnivorous,
or omnivorous,
many insects can be highly selective in what they eat.
They will choose foods to naturally regulate
the nutrients they take in.
The trick for researchers like Ebony is to create a diet
that insects will not only
choose to eat, but which loads them with bonus nutrients.
You are what you eat.
So whatever they eat, they're able to metabolize,
and we can benefit from those items that are present
in their system.
So, for example, if you add more calcium
or something like that to their diet,
they're able to ingest that and pass that on.
There's a lot more tinkering that we could do to make sure
that these diets don't just
rear a bunch of insects, but they actually rear insects
that have high nutritional value.
I think that just as pasta is,
just as bread for your sandwich is,
it's a great vehicle to pass on specific nutrients that we know
are needed for, for healthy development.
NARRATOR: But beyond nutrients,
Ebony wants to investigate the potential
of insect food to deliver medicines.
Her focus is on CBD from cannabis.
JENKINS: We are analyzing the crickets to see how they metabolize
CBD for medicinal purposes.
We just added those drops to the feed and mix it up,
and we're just going to let them eat it,
and see what is the CBD doing inside of the cricket.
WARE: I think it would be useful to try and incorporate
medicinal products into insects,
but it would be interesting to see
if it actually would work.
Insects certainly can retain a lot of things
in their tissue.
It would be interesting to see
whether insects would metabolize them
and, and chuck them, or whether they would actually
be sequestered in the body tissue.
I'm not sure.
NARRATOR: Research is in its early days,
but Ebony's confidence is high.
JENKINS: Once we have the findings,
I believe that it's going to take off,
because people want to know how they can become healthier.
And if we can make people's lives better, we did our job.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR: If Ebony is successful,
insects bred on the customized food could one day treat
both your hunger and your health.
While some insects have discriminating tastes,
others will eat just about anything.
And that could help tackle another major problem:
food waste.
♪ ♪
Each year, 1.8 billion tons of food, worth approximately
$1.2 trillion, is left to rot.
But for some,
this toxic food dump is a golden opportunity.
The term "waste" is, um, a myth.
This is just a really good resource that we have yet
to learn how to utilize.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR: In the heart of London, England,
environmentalist Keiran Olivares Whitaker
has a plan to turn rotting food waste
into an economic and environmental gold mine.
♪ ♪
He's set up a company that is putting insects
on the front line of the ecological battle.
Like Mohammed and Gabe, Keiran's initial focus
is on research.
But unlike them, he's not breeding crickets.
This is the black soldier fly.
It could be the ultimate ecowarrior.
These bugs don't sting, don't damage crops,
and don't carry disease.
And their larvae have really caught the eye
of prospective insect farmers
because there's something very special about their stomachs.
They are the least fussy eaters.
They will eat almost anything.
Because they are a fly species,
the larva eats the decaying matter,
so the things that are already rotting or composting.
So, we're not restricted to having to feed them on,
you know, fruit and vegetables,
or wheat.
We can use any type of food waste
to feed black soldier flies.
NARRATOR: Researchers have discovered that the gut
of the black soldier fly larva is filled with powerful enzymes.
These are super-efficient at digesting rotting organic waste.
I think there's huge potential
to use insects as waste recyclers.
It's kind of one of their underexplored superpowers.
WARE: Some insects really do prefer
decaying matter.
They really do prefer organic waste.
Why not harness the power of these voracious insects?
NARRATOR: Keiran's company, Entocycle,
is already experimenting
with a wide variety of different food waste.
WHITAKER: In this local area,
we're using brewery grain waste, coffee waste,
fruit and vegetable waste from the markets.
And, you know, these are all fantastic inputs
to feed black soldier fly.
NARRATOR: And once they've digested the waste,
black soldier fly larvae become the ultimate natural fast food.
WHITAKER: They grow incredibly fast,
nearly 5,000 times their body weight.
So it only takes nine to 12 days to turn what is a grain of sand
into an inch-long protein bar.
And that's why they're so fantastic.
From an environmental point of view,
the speed of production for black soldier fly
and the fact that they can eat
the widest range of input streams
mean that for me, they're just simply the best insect
that we can farm.
NARRATOR: The company plans to concentrate initially
on powder for pet and animal feed.
But in some parts of the world, black soldier fly protein
may soon be on the dinner table.
WHITAKER: It's coming quicker than people think.
The legislation for black soldier flies for humans
in Europe is changing as we speak.
I think you'll start seeing black soldier fly-based products
entering the market kind of in 2021 onwards.
WARE: On a scientific level, I think it's terrific.
I think it makes a lot of sense.
I think it's probably economical and it's probably better
for the planet in the long run.
I do feel a little bit squeamish about it,
but I'd be game to try it.
If they were cooked well. (laughs)
♪ ♪
NARRATOR: Many experts now believe
that the age of the insect meal is upon us.
♪ ♪
The unconstrained expansion of livestock farming
still threatens widespread ecological devastation.
But scientific and technological
progress in the field of insect farming
mean edible bugs might provide a way out.
There are still problems to solve
and attitudes to overcome.
But ready or not, insects could soon be back
on a lot more menus.
LESNIK: I don't recommend that we're going to stop eating meat
altogether, and everybody's all of a sudden
going to eat insects.
Instead, what we're trying to do is expand our diets.
STULL: My hope is that anyone
who would be watching this
would at least take a moment
to think differently about insects as food.
Because they are a totally awesome, underexplored
food resource that has a ton of potential to improve the world.
Oh, I love the idea of eating insects.
I think it's a really good step in the right direction.
Insects are really sustainable
and they taste great.
I mean, there's such a huge variety of insects
that we're going to be able to find some that we like.
YOON: People often ask, like, "What's the best bug
or best dish to get people to try it?"
There's no silver bullet.
I think diversity is going to be key.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR: So what would the experts suggest?
♪ ♪
WHITAKER: Black soldier fly larvae.
They taste like macadamia nuts.
A little bit nutty, a little bit oily... really quite nice.
♪ ♪
Grasshoppers kind of taste like shrimp.
They have this seafood quality to them.
JENKINS: The cricket has, like, a mild flavor.
It's not really overbearing.
It kind of reminds you of, like, a Frito or a chip,
of something of that nature.
I think the best way I've ever had them was mealworms
in garlic butter sauce... Those were tasty.
WARE: It would be a dragonfly, for sure,
because their, their thorax
is just muscle.
Get rid of the wings and get rid of the abdomen,
and then go right for the thorax.
It's meaty and it's, it's really delicious.
What I would say to anyone that's nervous is,
I'm right there with you still.
STULL: My favorite are the flying ants.
They taste like popcorn.
I mean, they're just, like, crunchy
and a little oily and a little salty,
and, like, they're really delicious.
YOON: There is one all-time favorite,
hands down, no question,
and that is the cicada.
They have a little exoskeleton
and then they're full of this meaty flesh.
Amazing.
This is kismet.
This is romance.
This is poetry.
It's music.
And it is gastronomy in the highest form.
Amen.
JENKINS: My least favorite insect that I have tried is the sago worm.
I don't even want to talk about it.
(laughs)
♪ ♪
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♪ ♪