WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.360 --> 00:00:00.960 Get value. 2 00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:03.439 You can't argue with at Tesco with their amazing club 3 00:00:03.480 --> 00:00:06.200 card prices. Have the perfect night in with their finest 4 00:00:06.200 --> 00:00:09.199 frozen pizza meal deal. Get the finest frozen pizza, chips 5 00:00:09.240 --> 00:00:11.679 and ice cream all for six to zuo. Like our 6 00:00:11.679 --> 00:00:14.839 delicious spicy salami, hot honey and do ya or Margarito 7 00:00:14.880 --> 00:00:18.039 wood fired pizzas, served up with their crispy chunkie chips 8 00:00:18.239 --> 00:00:20.679 and ice cream like se sil de caramel or pistachio 9 00:00:20.760 --> 00:00:25.120 for dessert. Can't argue with that. Shop in store or online. Tesco. 10 00:00:25.600 --> 00:00:28.960 Every little helps available in most stories, prices very in express. 11 00:00:30.320 --> 00:00:32.799 Hi. There, this is your Internet uncle dad to say 12 00:00:32.880 --> 00:00:35.600 that this is an episode of Smologies, which is when 13 00:00:35.640 --> 00:00:39.840 we take a long, weird, not for kids episode and 14 00:00:39.880 --> 00:00:42.799 we whittle it into something that is classroom safe and 15 00:00:43.119 --> 00:00:47.479 filthless for Smologites. So it's shorter, hence it's called Somologies, 16 00:00:47.759 --> 00:00:50.399 so grown ups. If you want something a little spicier 17 00:00:50.560 --> 00:00:53.759 and much more thorough, the full length episode link is 18 00:00:53.799 --> 00:00:55.200 right in the show notes. You can go straight to that. 19 00:00:55.359 --> 00:00:58.439 But if you want something short and safe, onward, here 20 00:00:58.479 --> 00:01:02.960 we go. Oh that lady who wants to sample three gelatos, 21 00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:05.640 But can only bear to make the gelato person give 22 00:01:05.680 --> 00:01:07.719 her two samples and then just buys the flavor that 23 00:01:07.760 --> 00:01:12.519 she always gets. Alley Board back with another episode of Ologies. Okay, so, 24 00:01:12.560 --> 00:01:15.719 speaking of eating, actually, you're about to change the way 25 00:01:15.760 --> 00:01:20.599 you look at food at the future. So finally the 26 00:01:20.640 --> 00:01:22.879 power to change the planet. It's in your hands, dog, 27 00:01:23.719 --> 00:01:26.079 and it's in your smoothies, and it's in your mouths. 28 00:01:26.319 --> 00:01:30.079 Get ready for some bug science, some human history, and 29 00:01:30.120 --> 00:01:34.400 some dare I say, hope, entomophogy anthropology. Let's just get 30 00:01:34.439 --> 00:01:38.280 the heck into it. So ententemon in Greek means insect, 31 00:01:38.680 --> 00:01:42.239 phage means to eat, and anthropology, of course is a 32 00:01:42.280 --> 00:01:46.760 study of human peoples. So I'm so stoked about this 33 00:01:46.840 --> 00:01:51.280 episode and this ologist perhaps the leading expert on planet 34 00:01:51.319 --> 00:01:54.560 Earth about this topic. She got her bachelor's at Northern 35 00:01:54.640 --> 00:01:58.120 Illinois University in anthropology. She got a master's and a 36 00:01:58.200 --> 00:02:02.640 PhD in anthropology at University of Michigan, and she's an 37 00:02:02.640 --> 00:02:06.439 assistant professor of anthropology at Wayne State University in Detroit. 38 00:02:06.920 --> 00:02:11.080 She wrote the literal book about humans eating bugs. It's 39 00:02:11.159 --> 00:02:15.479 titled Edible Insects and Human Evolution. I first saw a 40 00:02:15.560 --> 00:02:18.280 video of hers where she referred to eating insects as 41 00:02:18.319 --> 00:02:21.520 just eating very tiny animals. And I was just charmed 42 00:02:21.560 --> 00:02:23.800 and I needed to make her my friend. And we 43 00:02:23.840 --> 00:02:30.280 had a lovely time chatting about gateway bugs, grasshopper tacos, abandoning, learned, 44 00:02:30.319 --> 00:02:36.719 cultural fears, unctious scorpions, termite farts, food security concerns. So 45 00:02:36.919 --> 00:02:42.439 open up and say, I ants for entomophagy, anthropologist doctor 46 00:02:42.560 --> 00:03:01.639 Julie Lesnikou alogy sologious. 47 00:03:00.919 --> 00:03:05.800 Jeez. So I started studying tools first, so I went 48 00:03:06.319 --> 00:03:08.639 I was an archaeologist. As an undergrad, I worked in 49 00:03:08.680 --> 00:03:11.319 Europe just because that's where field schools that I could 50 00:03:11.319 --> 00:03:16.919 get onto were. And then going into graduate school, I 51 00:03:16.960 --> 00:03:20.680 had this very like philosophical existential moment of like I 52 00:03:20.759 --> 00:03:25.400 kind of wanted to relate humans back to that biological 53 00:03:25.520 --> 00:03:27.520 being that we are, as opposed to the sort of 54 00:03:27.560 --> 00:03:30.840 like elevated God that we pretend we are sometimes. And 55 00:03:30.879 --> 00:03:33.039 so that was really the driving question for me going 56 00:03:33.080 --> 00:03:35.879 into grad school. Then it just became available to me 57 00:03:35.960 --> 00:03:38.800 to study these bone tools that are from South Africa 58 00:03:39.360 --> 00:03:41.439 that were demonstrated. 59 00:03:40.879 --> 00:03:43.599 To have been used to dig into termite mounds. 60 00:03:43.840 --> 00:03:47.039 So researchers had done experiments on sort of their own 61 00:03:47.039 --> 00:03:49.879 bone fragments to match the to find the best match 62 00:03:49.919 --> 00:03:51.800 for the wear pattern on these ancient tools that are 63 00:03:51.800 --> 00:03:54.840 about one point seven million years old, and their conclusion 64 00:03:54.879 --> 00:03:55.719 was termite mounds. 65 00:03:55.879 --> 00:03:58.280 So this came out right before I started grad school. 66 00:03:58.719 --> 00:04:01.080 So Julie had that chance to go to South Africa 67 00:04:01.159 --> 00:04:04.360 and she was looking at tools used to dig into 68 00:04:04.479 --> 00:04:07.960 termite mounds, and then because of her love of animals, 69 00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:12.120 it got her interested in chimpanzee behavior around termite mounds. 70 00:04:12.280 --> 00:04:18.240 She's like, what is happening with primates and termites? Primites, termites, 71 00:04:18.639 --> 00:04:21.279 Let's get into it. I like to imagine her standing 72 00:04:21.560 --> 00:04:25.959 on termite mound in khaki shorts and dusty field boots 73 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:28.879 and then sprinting into a library maybe. And what kind 74 00:04:28.920 --> 00:04:31.399 of tools do chimps used? 75 00:04:31.439 --> 00:04:33.560 They typically do They just dip a stick in there, 76 00:04:33.639 --> 00:04:36.079 kind of like it's a corn dog batter or what. Right. 77 00:04:39.120 --> 00:04:43.360 It's amazing that actually how refined the tools are. So 78 00:04:43.399 --> 00:04:46.879 some chimps will use like a long blade of grass 79 00:04:47.000 --> 00:04:50.439 or a stick that they strip of leaves with their teeth. 80 00:04:50.839 --> 00:04:54.600 And just like there are regional cooking trends like how 81 00:04:54.639 --> 00:04:58.279 an iced oat, milk, lavender, vanilla latte might be easier 82 00:04:58.319 --> 00:05:02.000 to come by in La than be Oklahoma. Different chimp 83 00:05:02.040 --> 00:05:05.959 populations have different strategies and perhaps preferences. 84 00:05:06.480 --> 00:05:10.319 But some run it through their premolars so it shreds. 85 00:05:11.040 --> 00:05:13.639 And then that one blade of grass turns into a 86 00:05:13.639 --> 00:05:17.759 lot of basic hair, basically hairs, which increases the surface area, 87 00:05:17.920 --> 00:05:19.800 which means more termites. 88 00:05:19.439 --> 00:05:20.279 Can attached to it. 89 00:05:20.360 --> 00:05:22.639 Oh my god, like a feather dust, yes, right, yeah, 90 00:05:22.680 --> 00:05:24.959 and so yeah, the more so it's like a mini broom. 91 00:05:25.519 --> 00:05:28.279 And so what people do is they dig a hole 92 00:05:28.319 --> 00:05:30.439 into the mound and dip a whole broom in and 93 00:05:30.480 --> 00:05:32.959 it might just be from the vegetation, like grab handfuls 94 00:05:32.959 --> 00:05:35.279 of grass, and so it increases the surface areas. 95 00:05:35.319 --> 00:05:37.720 You just get all these termites out in one big dip. 96 00:05:38.120 --> 00:05:39.959 And so that's basically what the chimps are doing when 97 00:05:39.959 --> 00:05:43.800 they're running that grass through their teeth and fraying it. 98 00:05:43.839 --> 00:05:46.360 So they're increasing the surface area. So there are more 99 00:05:46.399 --> 00:05:48.839 people on Earth who eat bugs than who don't, right, 100 00:05:49.360 --> 00:05:53.519 so or maybe yes, and like it's so hard it's 101 00:05:53.560 --> 00:05:56.319 hard to calculate the numbers, but a lot of people 102 00:05:56.360 --> 00:06:00.600 eat bugs. More countries have cultures that eat insects, countries 103 00:06:00.600 --> 00:06:04.959 that have zero insect consumption, and so yeah, so it's Western. 104 00:06:05.079 --> 00:06:08.439 It's a very Western idea to not eat bugs. And 105 00:06:08.480 --> 00:06:11.040 so that was kind of where my research took a turn, 106 00:06:11.040 --> 00:06:12.839 and I wasn't expecting this. 107 00:06:13.240 --> 00:06:15.959 I wanted to understand that more. 108 00:06:16.199 --> 00:06:20.759 And the first thing I thought was, well, if Western 109 00:06:20.839 --> 00:06:23.639 is stemmed in Europe, and I was thinking kind of 110 00:06:24.160 --> 00:06:27.519 human evolution and the first hominids in Europe, or you know, 111 00:06:27.560 --> 00:06:30.600 at least the Neanderthals, who you know were well established 112 00:06:30.600 --> 00:06:33.040 in Europe, It's like, okay, that's the placeoscene, that's the 113 00:06:33.040 --> 00:06:33.680 ice age. 114 00:06:33.879 --> 00:06:35.240 They probably weren't eating bugs. 115 00:06:35.519 --> 00:06:37.879 And so if we trace our ancestry in Europe all 116 00:06:37.920 --> 00:06:40.480 the way back to Neanderthals, the very first occupants were 117 00:06:40.480 --> 00:06:41.279 not eating bugs. 118 00:06:41.399 --> 00:06:43.879 Ooh, I have never thought about this. This is exciting. 119 00:06:44.120 --> 00:06:46.279 Were they not eating bugs because it was too chilly 120 00:06:46.319 --> 00:06:48.800 for bugs or why weren't they both? I think in 121 00:06:49.079 --> 00:06:51.720 for the majority of the time they wouldn't have been available. 122 00:06:51.959 --> 00:06:55.600 It is much more tropical resource and kind of as 123 00:06:55.639 --> 00:06:57.279 you leave to higher. 124 00:06:57.160 --> 00:07:01.600 Latitudes, insect consumption reduces. Oh my god, yes, so it's colder, 125 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:04.759 fewer bugs chillin' on branches, like hello, I am a 126 00:07:04.800 --> 00:07:08.079 tiny crounchy hot dog for you, So people eat fewer 127 00:07:08.079 --> 00:07:11.759 bugs that gets passed down for generations. So simple, This 128 00:07:11.879 --> 00:07:13.399 is so simple, but it blew my mind. 129 00:07:13.519 --> 00:07:17.800 You know, when it comes to getting Americans in the 130 00:07:17.839 --> 00:07:21.279 westernized world to be on board with crickets, do you 131 00:07:21.399 --> 00:07:26.079 think that with climate change being such a pickle, to 132 00:07:26.079 --> 00:07:28.160 put it mildly, do you think that's what's going to 133 00:07:28.199 --> 00:07:31.680 push people over to try things? You know, I'd hope so, 134 00:07:31.759 --> 00:07:34.439 But actually I think it's not that it's not drawing 135 00:07:34.480 --> 00:07:36.680 some people in, but it's just not drying in the 136 00:07:36.759 --> 00:07:37.480 numbers that are. 137 00:07:37.360 --> 00:07:38.680 Going to make the change. Okay. 138 00:07:39.120 --> 00:07:41.600 So I and there's been a lot of people saying 139 00:07:41.600 --> 00:07:44.680 this since day one, with all of this it and 140 00:07:44.759 --> 00:07:47.879 I absolutely believe it is to be true. Is that 141 00:07:47.959 --> 00:07:49.560 what needs to happen is they just need to be 142 00:07:49.639 --> 00:07:53.079 so delicious that people need it, like they need to 143 00:07:53.160 --> 00:07:57.480 try that whatever cricket thing, and that requires having chefs 144 00:07:57.519 --> 00:08:01.560 and food scientists and everybody on board to experiment and 145 00:08:01.600 --> 00:08:03.879 come up with these amazing delicious things. 146 00:08:03.680 --> 00:08:05.120 Like popcorn crickets or something. 147 00:08:05.199 --> 00:08:09.480 Yeah, yeah, exactly make it unhealthy, yeah, just to get 148 00:08:09.519 --> 00:08:10.160 it on board. 149 00:08:10.480 --> 00:08:12.800 And because kirks, they do have their own unique flavor. 150 00:08:12.839 --> 00:08:16.079 I mean, for the most part, most animal proteins, we 151 00:08:16.120 --> 00:08:18.920 just cover it up with seasoning and flavor anyways. But 152 00:08:19.240 --> 00:08:22.759 there is a flavor in crickets that's unfamiliar, and so 153 00:08:22.879 --> 00:08:25.240 finding that deep fried thing that gets everybody on board 154 00:08:25.279 --> 00:08:27.800 and gets you more familiar with that flavor, and then 155 00:08:27.839 --> 00:08:30.160 you're more willing to use that flavor in other areas 156 00:08:30.199 --> 00:08:30.839 of your life. 157 00:08:31.079 --> 00:08:33.679 Some other bugs that might make an appearance on menus 158 00:08:33.720 --> 00:08:40.240 of the future beetles, caterpillars, bees, dead of course, locusts, grasshoppers, 159 00:08:40.399 --> 00:08:44.000 stink bugs, and perhaps even flies. Those that feed on 160 00:08:44.120 --> 00:08:48.960 cheese taste like cheese. Hm hmm. Yeah, your old dad 161 00:08:49.039 --> 00:08:53.120 worn right here has eaten grasshopper tacos graciously prepared by 162 00:08:53.200 --> 00:08:57.759 lepidopterologist Phil Torus, plus whole menu of other bugs which 163 00:08:57.759 --> 00:08:59.320 we'll get to later. Just admit it. 164 00:09:01.080 --> 00:09:03.519 And in terms of the environmental impact, if that is 165 00:09:03.600 --> 00:09:06.799 motivating you say, maybe you're trying to cut down on 166 00:09:06.840 --> 00:09:09.480 your red meat consumption, your factory farming, and you want 167 00:09:09.519 --> 00:09:12.120 to go as you said in one of your talks, 168 00:09:12.159 --> 00:09:15.480 to eating tiny animals supposed to animals. 169 00:09:16.600 --> 00:09:18.919 I love that you referred to them as tiny animals. 170 00:09:18.919 --> 00:09:20.720 You're like, yeah, they are just they're just animals. They're 171 00:09:20.720 --> 00:09:23.960 just very tiny animals. But if you were to try 172 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:28.399 to sketch out the difference between eating one hundred grams 173 00:09:28.399 --> 00:09:30.720 of insects versus one hundred grams of meat in the 174 00:09:30.759 --> 00:09:33.440 different environmentally, like what are we talking? 175 00:09:33.519 --> 00:09:38.039 Oh my gosh. So I always like my I use this. 176 00:09:38.159 --> 00:09:40.440 Maybe this is my Detroiter in me. Actually I think 177 00:09:40.480 --> 00:09:43.120 he's my husband who's from Detroit, who. 178 00:09:42.799 --> 00:09:43.639 Gave me this metaphor. 179 00:09:43.679 --> 00:09:48.440 Originally is thinking about the scale of the different livestock, 180 00:09:48.559 --> 00:09:51.600 so cows to pigs toitch against insects, and they're very 181 00:09:51.600 --> 00:09:55.240 similar to like the fuel efficiency of different vehicles on 182 00:09:55.240 --> 00:09:55.600 the road. 183 00:09:55.679 --> 00:09:57.559 So like cows are yours. 184 00:09:57.639 --> 00:10:00.960 There are very large trucks that are just eating resources 185 00:10:01.039 --> 00:10:04.200 and you're not, like the turnover on that is awful. 186 00:10:04.320 --> 00:10:07.600 And then pigs might be your suv, and then you know, 187 00:10:07.840 --> 00:10:10.240 chickens might be your sedan, and then crickets are your 188 00:10:10.240 --> 00:10:13.840 smart car, and so it is everything scales with size. 189 00:10:13.879 --> 00:10:17.159 So the smaller you get, the more efficient those animals 190 00:10:17.200 --> 00:10:20.399 are converting the feed you give them to converting that 191 00:10:20.440 --> 00:10:21.720 to energy and nutrients. 192 00:10:21.759 --> 00:10:24.600 For us, but if we start to dress in tuxes 193 00:10:24.840 --> 00:10:27.399 and just belly up to all you can eat cricket bufetes, 194 00:10:27.960 --> 00:10:30.279 will it stay sustainable? 195 00:10:30.879 --> 00:10:35.679 When we scale up crickets to the level of producing chickens, 196 00:10:35.720 --> 00:10:37.600 how efficient are they going to be? And that is 197 00:10:37.639 --> 00:10:40.080 an important question we need to ask, and you know 198 00:10:40.200 --> 00:10:42.919 the people are working on, but just in general, just 199 00:10:43.200 --> 00:10:48.039 in them, their physiology is biological beings is more efficient 200 00:10:48.080 --> 00:10:50.919 than any of the other livestock we eat. Is there 201 00:10:50.919 --> 00:10:53.639 any flume flam about eating bugs that you would want 202 00:10:53.679 --> 00:10:54.159 to debunk? 203 00:10:54.240 --> 00:10:57.480 First and foremost, disease vectors is one. 204 00:10:58.240 --> 00:11:03.360 People always think that they carry diseases, and they don't 205 00:11:03.480 --> 00:11:06.879 unless they're exposed to them. When I offer insects to people, 206 00:11:06.960 --> 00:11:09.919 or the insects I eat are produced at facilities just 207 00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:12.759 for human consumption. So those facilities are clean to the 208 00:11:12.759 --> 00:11:16.000 standards of anything, whether you are processing cheese. 209 00:11:15.879 --> 00:11:17.320 Or vegetables or meat. 210 00:11:17.559 --> 00:11:19.480 You know, there's a certain standard of cleanliness that we 211 00:11:19.559 --> 00:11:21.759 have to have in our food production facilities. And so 212 00:11:21.799 --> 00:11:24.600 as long as you get your insects from there, you 213 00:11:24.639 --> 00:11:26.120 don't have the contaminants. 214 00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:30.000 So what insects have you personally eaten and how are they? Yeah, 215 00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:30.360 oh man. 216 00:11:30.440 --> 00:11:32.320 I mean I've had crookeds and mealworms the most because 217 00:11:32.320 --> 00:11:33.879 that's what's farmed here in the US. I've had a 218 00:11:33.879 --> 00:11:37.320 lot of termites, which are my favorite, but so one. 219 00:11:37.320 --> 00:11:39.799 They're my favorite because I've had them the freshest besides 220 00:11:39.879 --> 00:11:42.639 live from the mound. I've had them like straight from 221 00:11:42.639 --> 00:11:47.320 the mound, boiled for a minute, salted, consumed, and they tasted. 222 00:11:47.159 --> 00:11:49.559 Just like popcorn. It was delicious. 223 00:11:50.399 --> 00:11:52.480 But I always like to put this little like asterisk 224 00:11:52.720 --> 00:11:57.200 caveat is that termites are kind of like mini cows, 225 00:11:57.440 --> 00:11:59.320 and they produce a lot of methane. And so for 226 00:11:59.360 --> 00:12:02.279 as delicious as termites are, I really do not ever 227 00:12:02.320 --> 00:12:05.240 want to see them scaled and produced on a large 228 00:12:05.519 --> 00:12:08.799 like scaled production for human consumption, because we're just gonna 229 00:12:08.840 --> 00:12:10.840 run into the same greenhouse gas issues that. 230 00:12:10.799 --> 00:12:12.679 We do with cows. Why are they so farty. 231 00:12:13.240 --> 00:12:16.559 It's because of digesting just cellulose dents. Yeah, So it's 232 00:12:16.600 --> 00:12:20.200 like the when you break down really dense cellulose matter, 233 00:12:20.240 --> 00:12:22.879 whether it's wood or grass, that's what cows are doing. 234 00:12:22.919 --> 00:12:26.080 And so it just takes so many levels of digestion 235 00:12:26.159 --> 00:12:29.159 and the symbiotic relationships with the bacteria that breaks it down, 236 00:12:29.279 --> 00:12:31.279 So it's really the bacteria and the guts that are 237 00:12:31.559 --> 00:12:34.679 you know, creating the gases. So yeah, they have a 238 00:12:34.840 --> 00:12:37.440 very similar diet to cows and so they produce a 239 00:12:37.519 --> 00:12:40.960 very similar byproduct. Yeah, so maybe those would be at 240 00:12:40.960 --> 00:12:42.960 the bottom of your bug list. Yeah, so it's like 241 00:12:43.039 --> 00:12:45.399 they're delicious, but like get them in a marketplace when 242 00:12:45.399 --> 00:12:50.720 you're traveling. And I had surprisingly added june bug and 243 00:12:50.879 --> 00:12:53.639 june bugs, and now june bugs are creepy like because 244 00:12:53.639 --> 00:12:55.399 they're they like hit you in the head and they're 245 00:12:55.399 --> 00:12:58.279 basically like a little flying helmet like there's a solid right. 246 00:12:58.480 --> 00:13:01.000 But it was a nice crunched eat. Actually it was 247 00:13:01.039 --> 00:13:04.879 a very pleasant crunch you eat the shell. Yeah, they 248 00:13:04.879 --> 00:13:07.200 were whole. Yeah, okay, it's like a soft shell crab. 249 00:13:07.399 --> 00:13:09.399 Yeah yeah, federl Yeah. 250 00:13:09.960 --> 00:13:14.559 What about like silkworms or I'm trying to think the 251 00:13:14.600 --> 00:13:15.639 things I've eaten. 252 00:13:16.200 --> 00:13:18.440 Silkworm is delicious. 253 00:13:18.440 --> 00:13:21.480 I've had it mostly in like soups, And what I 254 00:13:21.639 --> 00:13:24.919 like in that too is if you have bubble tea, 255 00:13:25.279 --> 00:13:27.480 like to whole like silkworms in the bottom of my 256 00:13:27.519 --> 00:13:29.399 soup is like getting the bubble in my bubble tea, 257 00:13:29.480 --> 00:13:32.600 like through the straw so that's to me what silkworm 258 00:13:32.639 --> 00:13:33.000 larva is. 259 00:13:33.080 --> 00:13:36.720 Like I hear ants some ants can taste like lemon, yeah, 260 00:13:36.879 --> 00:13:39.159 and ants the defense mechanisms. 261 00:13:39.200 --> 00:13:41.240 If they have the formic acid defense mechanism, then you 262 00:13:41.240 --> 00:13:43.679 get that real tangy, lemony kind. 263 00:13:43.480 --> 00:13:45.960 Of effect from them. But they're eggs. 264 00:13:46.159 --> 00:13:49.799 Eskimoles is like a delicacy in Mexico, which are ant eggs, 265 00:13:50.240 --> 00:13:52.559 and ant eggs are eaten probably everywhere ants are, so 266 00:13:52.600 --> 00:13:55.159 I know in Southeast Asia they eat ant eggs as well, 267 00:13:55.440 --> 00:13:57.600 and they're eggs like it's crazy. I've only seen it 268 00:13:57.639 --> 00:13:59.840 in a video, but they have like a whole like 269 00:14:00.039 --> 00:14:01.720 frying pan of these ant eggs, and so the ant 270 00:14:01.720 --> 00:14:05.279 eggs themselves are only you know, half a centimeter in diameter, 271 00:14:05.600 --> 00:14:07.200 but they fry them up and it turns into like 272 00:14:07.240 --> 00:14:10.840 one big omelet, like it looks amazingly delicious. And I've 273 00:14:10.840 --> 00:14:12.440 had them in a dep I've had, you know, and 274 00:14:12.480 --> 00:14:17.000 they're just kind of savory and interesting texture and they're delicious. 275 00:14:17.000 --> 00:14:18.639 I mean, the ant eggs are really one of my 276 00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:19.320 favorite things. 277 00:14:19.639 --> 00:14:22.720 But the fact that they're eggs, like they cook a 278 00:14:22.720 --> 00:14:24.519 lot like eggs like kind of blew my mind. 279 00:14:24.720 --> 00:14:28.679 So nuts there's just a lot of tiny eggs. Yeah, 280 00:14:28.679 --> 00:14:30.039 you can cook enough of them. You have an omelet. 281 00:14:30.639 --> 00:14:33.399 Can I ask you some Patreon questions? Yeah? Okay, but 282 00:14:33.600 --> 00:14:36.879 before we devour those questions, we try not to bug 283 00:14:36.919 --> 00:14:39.080 you with just a little ad break, which makes it 284 00:14:39.120 --> 00:14:41.399 possible for us to donate to a charity for every 285 00:14:41.480 --> 00:14:44.480 Smologies episode, and this week we're tossing some money at Austin, 286 00:14:44.519 --> 00:14:48.919 Texas based nonprofit Littleherds dot org. And Little Herds educates 287 00:14:48.960 --> 00:14:52.159 and empowers communities both locally and globally to support and 288 00:14:52.200 --> 00:14:55.080 promote the use of insects for food and as feed 289 00:14:55.360 --> 00:14:59.159 as an environmentally sound and economically viable source of nutrition. 290 00:14:59.600 --> 00:15:03.039 And since the COVID nineteen pandemic, Little Herds has shifted 291 00:15:03.039 --> 00:15:06.720 their focus from helping people eat insects to helping people 292 00:15:06.759 --> 00:15:10.559 eat and combating food insecurity. So they are great. They 293 00:15:10.600 --> 00:15:12.759 are at littleherds dot org. There's a link in the 294 00:15:12.799 --> 00:15:14.600 show notes. Thank you sponsors. 295 00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:17.240 Get value you can't argue with at Tesco with their 296 00:15:17.279 --> 00:15:20.360 amazing club card prices. 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Every little helps available to most doores, 304 00:15:43.679 --> 00:15:44.919 prices very and express. 305 00:15:45.759 --> 00:15:47.840 Okay, let's let those questions fly. 306 00:15:49.919 --> 00:15:53.759 Jordan worm, he wants to know highest protein insect, biggest 307 00:15:53.759 --> 00:15:56.399 bang for the bucket in terms of eating the creepy crawleys. 308 00:15:56.720 --> 00:16:00.000 Jordan, let's calm knock, yeah, stay away from the sea words. 309 00:16:00.799 --> 00:16:05.360 Uh So, anything in its more adult phase is probably 310 00:16:05.360 --> 00:16:09.720 gonna have more protein, and anything in its younger phase, 311 00:16:10.080 --> 00:16:12.679 like a caterpillar or a beetle larvae, is gonna have 312 00:16:12.679 --> 00:16:15.960 more fat. Oh so, crickets are gonna be more protein rich, 313 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:18.279 more likely than your mealworms, and meal worms are gonna 314 00:16:18.279 --> 00:16:18.720 be more fat. 315 00:16:19.080 --> 00:16:21.000 So from buttery to meaty. 316 00:16:20.799 --> 00:16:25.559 Exactly, just like us as we get sinewy, right exactly. 317 00:16:26.399 --> 00:16:29.360 Rosaria a Nira wants to know what are the best 318 00:16:29.360 --> 00:16:30.120 bug recipes. 319 00:16:30.759 --> 00:16:33.639 Oh, I think that The best thing to do with 320 00:16:33.720 --> 00:16:37.600 bugs for me to start is to put them in 321 00:16:37.639 --> 00:16:40.840 a taco. Because in your taco you have all the 322 00:16:40.879 --> 00:16:42.960 things you already love and are super familiar with, so 323 00:16:43.000 --> 00:16:45.159 your salsa and your garcamela and your sour cream, and 324 00:16:45.240 --> 00:16:47.679 so you just toast up your crickets with some chili 325 00:16:47.679 --> 00:16:49.799 powder a little bit of lime, and you put them 326 00:16:49.799 --> 00:16:52.279 in there, and it's a wonderful place to start. I've 327 00:16:52.279 --> 00:16:55.000 had them, yeah, yeah, a good crunch. Yeah, it was 328 00:16:55.039 --> 00:16:57.320 a great crunch. It's like a bunch of little soft 329 00:16:57.320 --> 00:17:00.759 shell crabs. Yeah, it was great. Thank you Taurus for that, 330 00:17:01.000 --> 00:17:04.240 and for adding cricket powder to your Norwegian wedding cake, 331 00:17:04.400 --> 00:17:09.480 which was I can attest so good. It was dense, chewy, nutty. 332 00:17:09.839 --> 00:17:12.319 I very much regret not stuffing more of it into 333 00:17:12.359 --> 00:17:15.519 my purse. Lauren Eckert wants to know, given recent studies 334 00:17:15.519 --> 00:17:18.799 showing that insect populations are in massive decline in some areas, 335 00:17:18.880 --> 00:17:21.799 do you think insect protein is still a sustainable option 336 00:17:21.880 --> 00:17:22.599 moving forward? 337 00:17:22.839 --> 00:17:24.039 I love that question, and. 338 00:17:26.279 --> 00:17:29.599 Yes, I do think it is, because if you're focused 339 00:17:29.720 --> 00:17:33.839 on eating the insects that are farmed for human consumption, 340 00:17:34.000 --> 00:17:37.400 so the cricket populations at Entimo Farms in Toronto, who's 341 00:17:37.440 --> 00:17:40.680 producing them. That's not at all affecting kind of global 342 00:17:40.680 --> 00:17:45.680 ecology and insect loss. So for us here in the 343 00:17:45.759 --> 00:17:48.440 United States, eating the farmed insects is not a problem. 344 00:17:49.160 --> 00:17:52.240 Increasing in cassette consumption around the world, where it might 345 00:17:52.279 --> 00:17:57.359 increased wild harvesting can potentially be problematic. But I don't 346 00:17:57.400 --> 00:17:59.680 think that's not going to be the reason why insects 347 00:17:59.680 --> 00:18:02.240 go into decline. It's more of the climate and the 348 00:18:02.279 --> 00:18:05.160 climate that change that we're inducing or at least contributing to. 349 00:18:06.200 --> 00:18:09.079 That's the problem. Sophie Couzino wants to know. 350 00:18:09.119 --> 00:18:11.240 A friend of mine is super allergic to all shellfish 351 00:18:11.319 --> 00:18:13.799 and claims this means they're probably also allergic to insects. 352 00:18:14.079 --> 00:18:15.559 Does that make sense? Are they just trying to find 353 00:18:15.559 --> 00:18:17.519 an excuse not to try eating bugs? And I think 354 00:18:17.519 --> 00:18:19.039 a lot of people had that question. That's a really 355 00:18:19.079 --> 00:18:24.960 great question, And truthfully, we always say if you have 356 00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:28.359 a severe shellfish reaction, you're gonna want to be careful 357 00:18:28.359 --> 00:18:34.200 around insects. However, I am not sure it's ever triggered 358 00:18:34.240 --> 00:18:38.759 at least that same severe like anaphylactic response in somebody 359 00:18:38.799 --> 00:18:41.559 who had a shellfish allergy. The thing is is people 360 00:18:41.759 --> 00:18:45.200 might have specific insect allergies. So if you're just a 361 00:18:45.240 --> 00:18:48.440 person who's allergic to everything, you might not want to 362 00:18:48.480 --> 00:18:52.559 try them, right, you know, because to me there's less 363 00:18:52.640 --> 00:18:57.200 concern of allergies because we do consume insect parts regularly, 364 00:18:57.240 --> 00:18:59.519 Like there are insect parts in all of our processed foods. 365 00:19:00.200 --> 00:19:04.400 We eat any spiders while we sleep, I don't know. 366 00:19:04.480 --> 00:19:07.680 I may, I'm yes, I'm sure, but like, probably not 367 00:19:07.720 --> 00:19:10.319 the quantity that people think, Like, I don't think as 368 00:19:10.319 --> 00:19:12.279 many as the scare tactics say that we do. 369 00:19:12.400 --> 00:19:15.480 But I could do a whole ten minute aside about 370 00:19:15.480 --> 00:19:19.559 the research I just did about swallowing spider statistics and 371 00:19:19.640 --> 00:19:22.359 the conspiracy theories behind it, But it boils down to 372 00:19:22.799 --> 00:19:26.039 it's a myth. Spiders are terrified of you. They do 373 00:19:26.079 --> 00:19:28.599 not crawl in your mouth. You should be so lucky 374 00:19:29.079 --> 00:19:32.599 because free snack. Come on, man. Oh, Greer Nelson has 375 00:19:32.640 --> 00:19:34.440 a question, how are the bugs that are sold as 376 00:19:34.559 --> 00:19:38.720 edibles killed? Oh, that's a great question. So the insects 377 00:19:38.759 --> 00:19:40.279 will be fasted for. 378 00:19:40.240 --> 00:19:43.160 A while, so they aren't fed, so they then clear 379 00:19:43.240 --> 00:19:46.200 out whatever was in their intestinal system. So you get 380 00:19:46.200 --> 00:19:50.039 to get a clean bug, and then most commonly they 381 00:19:50.079 --> 00:19:53.559 are then frozen. So you put them into a freezing 382 00:19:54.559 --> 00:19:59.279 chamber freezer I think we call them. Yeah, but you 383 00:19:59.279 --> 00:20:01.079 put them in a freeze and basically they go into 384 00:20:01.119 --> 00:20:03.359 a natural state of hibernation. They go into a tour 385 00:20:03.440 --> 00:20:05.759 poor and then you eat them in there and then 386 00:20:05.799 --> 00:20:09.839 they will ultimately die. So that is pretty much the 387 00:20:09.920 --> 00:20:13.039 most common way that they are are killed or are 388 00:20:13.079 --> 00:20:14.880 slaughtered right now. 389 00:20:14.960 --> 00:20:18.000 Which when you compare that to mammals and chickens, yeah, 390 00:20:18.279 --> 00:20:20.559 or do you like the fieldwork aspect? I do? 391 00:20:20.680 --> 00:20:22.240 And that's kind of what got me into this is 392 00:20:22.279 --> 00:20:24.880 I always tell people that I'm happiest when I'm dirty, 393 00:20:25.039 --> 00:20:28.559 Like if I think that's I love, Like if I 394 00:20:28.559 --> 00:20:31.559 can't shower for the week because I'm camping, like that, 395 00:20:31.559 --> 00:20:35.039 that's where I'm happiest. So so many microbe friends, so 396 00:20:35.079 --> 00:20:37.920 many micro friends. Yeah, and then if we're all not showering, 397 00:20:37.920 --> 00:20:40.079 we don't all realize we smell, so it, you know, 398 00:20:41.720 --> 00:20:43.599 just acclimate, the acclimate, the herd. 399 00:20:43.759 --> 00:20:43.960 Yeah. 400 00:20:44.640 --> 00:20:46.119 What is the best thing about your job? What do 401 00:20:46.119 --> 00:20:50.079