We will be interviewing Dr. Lesnik on the podcast in the very near future!
Meanwhile…
“There’s a bottleneck right now. There are people who want to produce cricket-based products, like protein bars, chips and cookies, but there isn’t the supply. There’s actually more demand from people who want to start these businesses than cricket farms can supply.”
“When I first started this research I did not eat bugs. I was taking an entirely academic perspective on it, and I only ate termites once just to say I did. It took me a long time to get over this disgust that was deeply rooted in me.”
“It’s important for people to be disgusted by the things that could transmit disease. We have to tell our kids “Don’t play in the garbage” or “Don’t play in the toilet.” From an early age we tell children, “Don’t put insects in your mouth” and then it sticks. But there’s absolutely nothing wrong with eating insects if they’re cleaned, cooked, and produced for human consumption.”
“Right now all of the regulations are state by state. They’re vastly different for a cricket farm in Montana than a cricket farm in Colorado or New York. There is no language saying “these insects are clean,” or “these insects are raised just for human consumption.” That’s stopping a lot of large, chain grocery stores from putting insects on their shelves. You can find them at co-ops, and you can shop online. But the large chains aren’t doing it because the wording isn’t there.”
