Researchers believe that by 2050, humanity’s diet will change significantly and we will need to look for new food sources.
The world population is expected to reach 9 billion by the middle of the century. According to IFLScience, this prediction is quite frightening, as humanity currently uses approximately 70% of agricultural land to raise animals, our oceans are plundered daily by overfishing, and extreme climate change threatens traditional crop production.
As a result, scientists are already warning that humanity should consider alternative food sources. Remember that eating insects is nothing new. Research shows that insects form part of the traditional diet of approximately 2 billion people worldwide.
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At the same time, many people’s thoughts still deny that insects can be an excellent food source; they are dirty and disgusting and therefore have no place on our plates. As a result, scientists say this perception could become a problem for producers trying to use insects to produce food.
But statistics show that crickets are one of the most popular insects among people. Currently, people around the world use two types of crickets as food: the house cricket (Acheta domesticus) and the striped or ornamented cricket (Gyllodes sigallatus).
Could crickets solve the food problem?
Research shows that cricket farming has less environmental impact than other living resources. This is very good news, especially in light of the climate crisis from greenhouse gas emissions looming over our heads.
Scientists found that raising domestic crickets had the lowest carbon dioxide emissions per kilogram of dietary protein compared to mealworms, chickens, pigs and cattle. Moreover, the feed conversion ratio, that is, the ratio obtained by dividing the weight of the feed consumed by the weight gained by the animal, is only 1.7 for crickets. For comparison, the cattle rate is 10.
Scientists also found that crickets have 80% edible parts, while chickens, pigs and cattle have 55%, 55% and 40% edible parts respectively. Statistics also show that raising crickets requires about three times less water than raising beef cattle. And the land area required per kilogram of insect protein is 50-90% less than the area required to raise animals.
How many crickets should you eat to get your protein intake?
Researchers say crickets contain more iron than spinach, more fiber than brown rice, more calcium than milk, more potassium than bananas and more vitamin B12 than red meat.
It is known that 100 grams of cricket contains 28.6 grams of protein. Therefore, a person weighing approximately 70 kilos would need to eat just under 200 grams of crickets to meet their daily protein needs. For comparison, a person would need to eat about 8 ounces of steak to get the same amount of protein.
What does a cricket taste like?
People who dare to taste crickets mostly describe the experience as positive. Most say they wouldn’t know they were eating crickets unless they knew for sure. Note that we are talking about visiting restaurants where crickets are served as part of the meal and not just fried.
Previously Focus He wrote that an unexpected diet that improves metabolism is named after him.
Source: Focus
Ashley Fitzgerald is an accomplished journalist in the field of technology. She currently works as a writer at 24 news breaker. With a deep understanding of the latest technology developments, Ashley’s writing provides readers with insightful analysis and unique perspectives on the industry.