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Biography
Biography
Caroline Jethmal is a first-year undergraduate student studying Anthropology with a concentration in Climate Change & Human Solutions at University of California San Diego. Her second major is Political Science within the International Studies Program. Ever since she completed her fellowship with New Roots Institute, a non-profit organization that works to educate people about factory farming, her interest in sustainable food sources has skyrocketed. Her background is in captive African Elephant behavioral research through the AP Capstone program: so it's safe to say she really loves learning about animals. As a student in Food, Culture and Society, Caroline has learned about food security issues and potential solutions to those issues, one of which she will explore throughout her final paper: "Hidden Delights: BUGS! How can we solve the western aversion to entomophagy?"
Mormon Cricket (Image: Gray's Sporting Journal)
Introduction
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN estimates one billion people were malnourished in 2011 (FAO 2011). The Food Research & Action Center released that 1/7 houses in America (47.4 million Americans) experience food insecurity as of 2023. 13.8 million children belong to households that experience food insecurity–a number that has increased by 3.2% from 2022 (Food Research & Action Center 2023). Worse, the FAO expects that, by 2050 the human population will increase to 9 billion people, leading to greater pressure on the environment and increased scarcity of resources (FAO 2020). Heather Looy, at the Department of Psychology for The King’s University College, confidently believes that “the planet can supply all our food names.” The hunger crisis is worsening not because we do not have enough food, but because of “economic, cultural, and political” reasons (Looy et al. 2013). Therefore, the FAO proposes a solution: the consumption of insects. Insects emit less greenhouse gases and use significantly less resources than other protein sources (such as beef, pigs, chickens and sheep) while producing the same levels of protein (FAO 2020). The problem arises, however, that a deep cultural aversion to eating insects has prevented much of the world from exploring insects as an alternative protein source.
Like many Americans, I have an aversion to insect-eating. For this research project, I tried to make cricket-flour brownies to fully immerse myself in the process of insect eating. I imagine that I do not like the smell, nor do I like the taste of crickets because I did not grow up around a culture that normalized entomophagy: “the study of the human consumption of insects (usually for food)” according to Mark Sutton, Department of Sociology and Anthropology at California State University, Bakersfield (Sutton 1995). 80% of the world’s population eats insects regularly according to Spencer Michaels for PBS News (Michaels 2012). I believe that glocalization, the “process by which differences in local cultures emerge from sharing a commonality with one or more global cultures” (Simi & Matusitz 2015) of insects to the United States could effectively popularize entomophagy, changing the tastes of people like me.
Because insects are a key component to achieving food sustainability, it is necessary to introduce an insect-based diet in the Western world. The most effective way to popularize entomophagy is by method of glocalization: adapting insect-eating techniques from other cultures to American culture.
Because insects are a key component to achieving food sustainability, it is necessary to introduce an insect-based diet in the Western world. The most effective way to popularize entomophagy is by method of glocalization: adapting insect-eating techniques from other cultures to American culture.
Background
Humans have been consuming insects for thousands of years. The Altamira cave paintings in modern-day Spain provide insights on entomophagy: paintings depict a collection of edible insects and wild bees of the prehistoric peoples during the upper paleolithic era 36 thousand years ago (Olivadese & Dindo 2023). Before humans, consumption among non-human primates (Plio-Pleistocene hominids) was documented which may have impacted human evolution (Sutton 1995). In the United States specifically, early pioneers documented how Ute Natives made the pioneers “prairie cakes” with berries and the Mormon cricket, essentially saving their lives as they settled in Utah. In 1916, members of the US Bureau of Entomology and Bureau of Biological Survey recognized insects as a cheap and practical food source.
There are two main categories of authoritative viewpoints on the subject of entomophagy. The first viewpoint is that of the “dominant” Western culture. Since the 19th century, the “dominant culture” of European and Euro-Americans began to only associate their children with the “destructive” and “dangerous” aspects of entomophagy instead of the benefits (Costa-Neto & Dunkel 2016). The opposed viewpoint boasts the benefits of entomophagy, claiming entomophagy is necessary to the sustainability and reformation of the global food system.
Southern Ute Natives (Image: climbinghouse.com)
Overcoming the Taboo
By the 19th century, western people saw eating insects as “disgusting, primitive, or a sign of material poverty” (Costa-Neto & Dunkel 2016) and inedible except “under the most desperate of circumstances” in which insects are dubbed “starvation food” (Looy et al. 2013). However, insects such as “grasshoppers, crickets, cicadas” and various larvae eat leaves or wood, making them more hygienic than some food sources Westerners are less averse to: crabs, lobsters, and shrimp, which eat carrion (Costa-Neto & Dunkel 2016). In fact, agreed on by both Sutton and Looy, most insects can be eaten without adverse effect (Sutton 1995; Looy et al. 2013). In fact, Aztec people used to eat 91 different species of insects, but these were “forgotten” when the Spanish conquistadors arrived (Costa-Neto & Dunkel 2016). Marvin Harris, a highly influential late anthropological historian, explains why we do not eat insects, even though there are no significant harms: “The reason we do not eat insects is not because they are dirty and disgusting. Instead, they are dirty and disgusting because we do not eat them” (Harris 1999).
Insects can be a source of nutrition, consisting of protein, amino acids, healthy fats, vitamins, minerals (Looy et al. 2013). Notably, fatty acids and omega-3 polyunsaturated fats in mealworms are comparable to the levels of fatty acids and omega-3 polyunsaturated fats in fish and are actually higher than pigs/cattle (Fazekas et al. 2000). Some groups were and are reliant on insect protein, such as females in the Yanomami horticultural group in the Amazon Basin (Lizot 1977).
Yanomami women (Image: amazonwatch.org)
Tukanoan Indian Woman (Image: isropicraute.weebly.com)
In the Horticultural Tukanoan Indians group in the northwest amazon, women sometimes only had access to insect protein which “furnished an important source of fat in the diet” (Dufour 1987).
Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization's "Edible insects" report
Eating insects is more sustainable than eating conventional livestock because farming insects requires less land, water, and feed, producing less greenhouse gas emissions and minimal contribution to deforestation. Insect farming uses organic waste materials, which creates a “closed-loop system” that “reduces environmental impact” (Fazekas et al. 2000; Looy et al. 2013).
Consumption Patterns
Structural analysis can help understand the role insects may play in the American diet. Of the “Core-Fringe-Legume’ Hypothesis (Mintz 2001) suggested by Sydney Mintz, insects fall into the Fringe category, composed of fats, fruits, vegetables, meat, oil, and spice. This is because, according to Sutton, “Insects never comprised the staple in any economy” but were often an addition to the diet (Sutton 1995).
Man eating tortilla with mexicana grasshoppers, or chapulines (Image: getty images)
In order to change consumption patterns, we must analyze food purchasing behaviors. Without a taste for insects, there will be little demand. According to Demi Simi at the University of Central Florida, food purchasing behaviors are influenced by “history, custom, apathy and an artistic responsiveness for forming eating arrangements” (Simi & Matusitz 2015). An issue with popularizing insect-eating in the United States is colonization. Some people in Latin America associate insect eating with poverty and “indianness”, even though people have long been eating insects in Latin America. Because of the shame of being viewed as poor pr “indian”, some have stopped eating insects. (Katz 2011). Western attitude towards insects is complicit with “colonizing the imagination” which maintains unsustainable practices regarding food sourcing, leading to a loss of “wild foods” (Looy et al. 2013).
Plenty of consumption patterns have changed in the past, which is why case studies can help inspire strategies for glocalizing insects to the United States. For example, lobster was once served strictly as servant and prisoner food. Sushi was deemed as unsafe. Pizza was associated with poor Sicillians. Now, lobster is considered a luxury food, sushi is viewed as safe and delicious, and pizza is now enjoyed by more than the rural poor (Corson 2008). In regards to lobster specifically, luxury is a strategy that could help individuals overcome aversion to eating insects, and “revalue the consumption of insects by those people who already eat them” (Katz 2011). The western obsession with food and nutrition could also be capitalized on: entomophagy could become a lasting fad that is both exotic and fashionable. Positive associations with entomophagy leads to a higher demand which leads to pressures on the market to supply (Looy et al. 2013).
Glocalization
Now that we have countered common misconceptions regarding entomophagy, boasted the sustainable and nutritional benefits of insect-eating, and discussed methods in which consumption patterns have changed and how they can change, we can look into applied entomophagy in the United States. Glocalization has been key to blending the local and global to empower a cultural product to “prosper in various traditions” (Simi & Matusitz 2015). For example, Walmart adapted to the Indian market by creating the “Bharti-Walmart” that plays bollywood pop and serves Indian food. Disneyland Paris originally failed in France because it was entirely based on U.S. Disneyland, so they adapted to French needs by selling alcohol and changing the spectacles to be more French. Disneyland Paris became Europe’s top tourist attraction (Simi & Matusitz 2015).
If Walmart can adapt to India, and Disneyland can adapt to Paris, insects can surely adapt to the United States. To test whether glocalization might be effective, I created an informal study: baking cricket brownies! I chose to bake cricket-flour brownies and have 7 respondents rate their aversion to eating whole and non-whole insects before consumption of the brownie and after consumption of the brownie.
The reason I chose brownies was because of glocalization: brownies are a well loved American treat, and because crickets take on a nutty flavor, including cricket-flour in the recipe, I hypothesized, would not be garish. I also chose to include cricket-flour and not whole crickets because of a 2023 cross-sectional quantitative online survey. Respondents in the survey viewed insect protein as “innovative and environmentally friendly”, but preferred to eat products with just added insect protein instead of “visibly identifiable insects” (Fazekas et al. 2000). In comparison to a whole cricket, brownies may seem more fun or desirable. This assumption is based on a study with 1113 children, children were given the choice to eat either white or whole wheat bread rolls, with the whole wheat bread rolls being healthier. When the whole wheat bread was presented in fun shapes and the white bread rolls were regular shapes, the consumption of whole wheat bread almost doubled (Kleef et al. 2014). From this I agreed and gathered that improving the visual appeal of foods can lead to sustained behavioral changes, necessitating that the consumption of the crickets be in an exceptionally desirable form.
The main limitation to this study could be ineffectiveness or adverse reaction. Lacking full transparency when on the market, these cricket-flour brownies might leave a worse impact on the consumers. For example, hiding vegetables in food can be a way to get kids to eat more vegetables, but this has some problems, which may arise if we supplement this ideas of entomophagy. 1. If children aren’t exposed to the taste of vegetables, they won’t develop a taste for vegetables. 2. If wanting to involve children in cooking, because it increases their likelihood of eating the foods if they prepare them, you can’t hide the vegetables. 3. Kids might feel tricked if they learn about the hidden vegetables and it could hurt trust or cause them to dislike the vegetable (Utah State University 2025). Considering this limitation, there must be complete transparency if cricket-flour brownies are ever to go to market on a popular scale.
The design of this informal study is as follows: seven subjects were asked for consent to fill out one pre-consumption, to fill out one post-consumption form, and to eat a cricket-flour brownie for their opinions. This sampling method was not random and very limited in its ability to generalize to a population, however it is a beneficial model study that could be replicated in a more scientifically sound way. For materials, I used baking materials, and the recipe: 1 cup brownie mix, ½ cup cricket-flour mix, 1 ½ eggs, ⅜ cup vegetable oil and 2 tablespoons water. Some concerns that arose were: how long to bake the brownies? Does the cricket flour act like normal flour? And the smell and taste of the brownies. The first google form for the subjects was titled “Attitude towards insect eating (Pre consumption).” In the “Pre consumption” survey, I asked “On a scale of 1-10, rate your aversion to eating insects whole. (ex. Cricket with legs and body and etc)” and “On a scale of 1-10, rate your aversion to eating insects without seeing them in whole form. (ex. powdered).” In the “Post consumption” survey, I asked “On a scale of 1-10, rate your aversion to eating insects whole in the future after eating the brownie. (ex. Cricket with legs and body and etc)” and “On a scale of 1-10, rate your aversion to eating insects in the future without seeing them in whole form after eating the brownie. (ex. powdered).”
I aimed to answer with this point specifically if there was a significant change in aversion between pre-consumption and post-consumption of cricket-flour brownies. To answer this, I focused on statistical significance of differences in aversion by using a paired sample T-test, using T(df:6) distribution (two-tailed) with a sample size of (n): 7. My null hypothesis was: there is no significant change in aversion between pre-consumption and post-consumption of cricket flour brownies. My alternative hypothesis was: There is a significant change in aversion between pre-consumption and post-consumption of cricket-flour brownies. I calculated that if the null hypothesis is true, it is within the 95% region of acceptance [-2.4469, 2.4469]. In looking at the whole bug consumption aversion, the test statistic was -1.8708. In looking at the not whole bug consumption aversion, the test statistic was -1.4856. This means that because both test statistics fall within this 95% region of acceptance, we cannot reject the null hypothesis at the 95% confidence level.
What this means is that I failed to reject the null hypothesis. I do not have convincing evidence of a significant difference in aversion to insect-eating for whole and not whole insects between pre-consumption and post-consumption of the cricket-flour brownies. I imagine this result is because of a few reasons: 1. My sample size was too small, 2. My questions were not refined, 3. The brownies were dry and did not taste very good, 4. The sample size was not randomized, 5. This was only one instance of eating a cricket-flour brownie which may not be enough exposure experiences to create real behavioral change. I would really like to conduct this research again on a larger scale and patch the limitations I have encountered with this first pre-trial.
Insects sold at a Bangkok market (Image: en.topwar.ru)
Conclusion
While the study did not produce the expected results, it opened up so many new questions. This paper has proven the effectiveness of glocalization and analyzed how consumption patterns change, as well as establishing the need for a drastic change in the current food system. Are there other, more effective ways we can popularize entomophagy in the United States? How can we reduce the shame of entomophagy in Latin America that colonization has imposed? How can we increase food sovereignty and security through insect-eating? Could insect-eating be the future of our global food system? To that last question I entirely agree; I am learning to develop a taste for insects because it is incredibly sustainable as opposed to the current food system. Insects are necessary to achieve food sustainability, which is why the Western world must adapt global insect-eating traditions. While much of the western world might be insect-phobic, there is so much hope to change consumption patterns through glocalization and psychological acceptance of entomophagy.
References
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