by Daniella Martin
Hennepin County Library hardcover 247 pages
genre: non-fiction, entomophagy (insect eating)
This was interesting and well-written, but didn't convince me to change my dietary habits. Eating bugs makes sense since they are plentiful, nutritious, and easy to harvest. Until they become easily available, I'm not going to go out of my way to access them. The only bugs for food I've seen have been insanely expensive. I am not interested in harvesting my own for food.
page 49 - in talking about prehistoric humans - "Despite the fact that women were providing a daily stream of protein, insects were less valued culturally, of course, than the giant mammoth kill that fed the whole tribe for a month and got all the hunters laid like crazy. Seriously, coming in from the bush dragging a giant dead animal made you the caveman version of Jon Bon Jovi crossed with Bear Grylls - rock star, killer, provider. Those cavewomen couldn't get their leather panties off fast enough, even while their own daily drudgery was overlooked as less culturally valuable."
page 83 - the section where she talks about her friend trying to get rid of slugs without being cruel . . . was a bit much for me. How is letting them drown in beer - "at least they will die happy" - any better than driving them out into the country and letting them go? (Yes, her friend actually did that until she realized that she was altering the ecosystem in the countryside by adding more slugs to it.) I am completely okay with squishing bugs that I don't want in my space.
page 135 - eating the huge Japanese hornet larva that grow into an adult hornet which "reach well over an inch long and has a quarter-inch stinger with venom so potent it can dissolve human flesh." Her willingness to try different insects around the world was admirable in the name of research but reminded me of the guy who had a tv show about eating disgusting things.
page 145 - I actually liked the part where she was in Thailand in a store she describes as a "Thai Costco" (even though it's not actually a Costco store). She tears up at the frozen food aisle - "Nestled between the ostrich patties and the crocodile filets is a small but solid section of frozen insects in one-kilogram bags. Fat white sago palm grubs stacked together like wontons, frosty crickets, potato string-like bamboo worms, and nutlike silkworm pupae. Just sitting there, like it's normal. I stand there and stare for a while. Some people fly thousands of miles to see the Taj Mahal, Chichen Itza, or the Sistine Chapel. I, apparently, had flown this far to stand gaping at the frozen food aisle."
If and when we actually get to the point of them being this easily accessible in America, I might be willing to eat insects. A lot of her points actually make sense.
I have to admit that I ran out of time and skipped pages 192-225 (essential list of edible insects) and 227-247 (recipe section). This is due at the library and cannot be renewed because it's on hold. I won't get it again later . . .
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