I have often argued that hunger in the United States is not a problem. Rather, it is a symptom of other problems. Some of these include drug abuse, child neglect, dementia, old age, and disability. In parts of the world where hunger is a problem it is usually due to war, famine, or bad government policy. Getting enough calories to sustain life is easy nowadays. There are always several types of meats in the butcher’s bargain bin at my local Kroger. My local Walmart sells 20-pound bags of basmati rice for $23.84, while the same size bag of Arroz long grain rice is $13.48. Walmart also has 5-pound bags of black beans for $19.99, while 12-pound bags of pinto beans are $27.99. A ratio of 2-to-3 parts rice to 1-part beans creates a complete protein. It also tastes surprisingly good when seasoned correctly. That is why a significant part of the world eats some rice & beans at every meal. A back-of-the-envelope calculation shows 2,000 calories of rice & beans costs only about $1.06 plus any seasonings, fats, or meat to add flavor. Throw in some canned vegetables and you can probably feed an adult for $500 a year.
It is curious then that insect farming for human consumption is a thing. According to an article by Vox, in a 2010 TED talk, Dutch entomologist Marcel Dicke, proposed eating bugs, saying:
“We have to get used to the idea of eating insects.”
To make his point, he even featured photographs of what might be a common meal in this bold new future: a stir fry with mealworm larvae, mushrooms, and snap peas, finished with a chocolate dessert topped with a large fried cricket.
Some globalist elites want us to eat bugs due to the huge carbon footprint raising cattle creates. The United Nations issued a comprehensive report on insects as a source of nutrition, for not just animal feed but also humans. Insect farming attracted considerable investment in the past two decades. Yet, bug farmers say it is difficult to find a market for what they produce. The following is from Vox:
But the past decade has shown that even if you build an insect farm, the global market may not come. Of the 20 or so largest insect farming startups, almost a quarter have gone belly up in recent years, including the very largest, Ÿnsect, which ceased operations in December.
All told, shuttered insect farming startups account for almost half of all investment into the industry.
“Things have gone from bad to worse for the big insect factory business model,” one insect farming CEO said late last year in a YouTube video.
A joint venture between Tyson Foods (the largest meat processing company) and the largest insect farming company is on hold. Let us hope it was to be a source of animal feed for chickens. Insect farmers have discovered that humans do not want to eat bugs for dinner.
While some people might tell researchers they’re open to adding bugs to their diet, these smallest of animals remain a novelty food in the US and Europe, as opposed to a commodity capable of displacing wings or burgers.
“The human food market, basically, has not materialized,” Dustin Crummett, a philosopher and executive director of The Insect Institute — a nonprofit that researches the environmental and animal welfare implications of large-scale insect agriculture — told me. “Only a tiny fraction of farmed insects are used for human food.”
Of course, there is the potential of farmed insects for chicken feed but that is not working out too well either.
According to a 2024 analysis published in the journal Food and Humanity and co-authored by Crummett, one ton of insect meal costs about 10 times that of soybean meal and 3.5 times that of fishmeal, a major cost gap that is unlikely to narrow anytime soon.
Insect meal is so expensive, in part, because feeding insects is expensive.
It turns out that insects cannot eat just anything. The food insects must be fed would otherwise be fed to livestock anyway. The cost is high compared to other protein sources and less appetizing. The areas of the world where hunger and famine is an ever-present danger cannot afford to eat expensive bugs either. For residents of developed nations red meat is an affordable luxury they would like to expand.
VOX: Bugs were supposed to be the future of food. Now, the insect farming industry is collapsing