Researchers say bugs could ease famine

CHIANG MAI, Thailand

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization estimates 1,400 species of insects and worms are eaten in almost 90 countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia. Researchers at the conference detailed how crickets and silk worms are eaten in Thailand, grubs and grasshoppers in Africa and ants in South America.

“In certain places with certain cultures with a certain level of acceptance, then insects can very well be seen as part of the solution” to hunger, said Patrick Durst, a Bangkok-based senior forestry officer at the FAO.

…She suggested a more practical benefit might be adding insects to animal feed or crushing them into a meal powder that could be used to make cookies or cakes.

Meyer-Rochow said aid agencies might even find a way to harvest crop-destroying swarms of locusts and crickets.

“These mass outbreaks could be a valuable food source,” he said. “If the technology is available, they could be ground up like a paste and added to the food humans eat.”

AP