Are beef, chicken, and pork really the future of proteins?
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During my 9th grade English Language Arts class, I was tasked with an assignment to write a research paper based on what we are interested in. Being a student who enjoys the topic of food, I looked into many possible topics for my paper. I ended up with the topic of insects replacing our every day source of proteins in the future. With this topic in mind, I looked into how insects are superior compared to beef, chicken, and pork. Thank you for reading and please enjoy.
The Future of Proteins.
In present time, people choose chicken, pork, or beef as their protein source. However, it’s time to find an alternate source; although insects are commonly thought to be disgusting, its benefits are overwhelming. Insects should be the main source of protein for the future; it’s nutritionally, economically, and environmentally better than protein sources now.
Nutrition is the biggest reason insects are superior compared to meat. With the same amount of food given, researchers have discovered a significant difference between insects and average protein giving meat. Research states, “It takes half as much food as you’d give to pigs and chickens and a twelfth as much as cattle to get the same amount of cricket protein on the far side of the abattoir” (Roger). This indicates how much more protein is given from insects compared to meat; with the same amount of food compared to cows, twelve times more protein is given. Furthermore, fats or energy given from insects are also higher compared to ordinary fat giving foods. Research claims, “The larvae of the African palm weevil are considered a delicacy in Nigeria. The lipid content (on a dry weight basis) of this larva (67 %) is higher than the amount found in most conventional protein foods such as beef, chicken, egg and milk” (Huis 4). This shows an increased in efficiency of energy compared to dairy or protein products, which is highly beneficial for people who needs a lot of energy to work.
Insects are environmentally friendlier compared to livestock. Many researchers have compared and shown reasons why insects are environmentally better than chickens, pigs, or cows. Research states, “Compared with livestock, breeding insects seems to be more environmentally friendly because of lower greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution and land use” (Kouřimská, Adámková 23). The key detail behind insects' environmental advantage is the compelling reduction in greenhouse gas, resources, and land used. Moreover, greenhouse gas produced by livestock are one of the larges problem of today’s global warming problem. Research shows, “People use 77 percent of the world’s agricultural land to grow feed for meat animals, even though they represent just 17 percent of calories consumed. Livestock emit 14.5 percent of climate change-causing greenhouse gases” (Roger). This reveals how many environmental problems insects would solve or reduce when people begin consuming them in a daily basis.
Insects are considered an unexplored industry, creating economic opportunities for those who chooses to pursue. Entrepreneurs are an example of people who would be innovating products from the newly created path the insects provide. According to research, “Insects, provide an opportunity for entrepreneurs to think outside the box. Millions of Africans are already eating them and new businesses could be developed. They can be eaten as they are, or processed – for instance into protein powders to serve as supplements” (Ngumbi). This demonstrates the practical use of insects in the economic world, generating chances for people to develop products. Additionally, newer generations of people show engagement towards insects. Based on an investigation, “The best way of normalizing edible insects is to target the preferences of the younger generation, who showed interest in using edible insects in unrecognizable forms” (Murphy). This goes to show how large the insect industry can go; this would potentially push the economy forward creating many job opportunities for people.
There are nutritional, environmental, and economic reasons why livestock in the present time should be replaced by insects. By switching to insects, people would be healthier from the increased in protein, less greenhouse gas emissions would be produced, and potentially more jobs would be available. Considering everything stated previously, the community should start switching their protein source from meat, pork, or chicken into eating insects which benefits the world.
Works Cited
Huis, Arnold Van. Edible Insects Are the Future?, ResearchGate, Feb. 2016,
www.researchgate.net/publication/295899741_Edible_insects_are_the_future.
Kouřimská, Lenka, and Anna Adámková. “Nutritional and Sensory Quality of Edible Insects.”
NFS Journal, vol. 4, 2016, pp. 22–26., doi:10.1016/j.nfs.2016.07.001.
Murphy, Amy. Insects Are 'Food of the Future', ECOLOGIST, 2 July 2019,
theecologist.org/2019/jul/02/insects-are-food-future.
Ngumbi, Esther Ndumi. How Insects Can Help Fight Hunger in the World, The Conversation,
16 Oct. 2018, 20:32, theconversation.com/how-insects-can-help-fight-hunger-in-the-
world-104951.
Rogers, Adam. If Edible Insects Are the Future, We Should Talk About Poop, Wired, 18 Jan.
2019, 07:00, www.wired.com/story/if-edible-insects-are-the-future-we-should-talk-about-
poop/.
Written 12/03/21
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