An increasing number of "entopreneurs," as they are being called, are launching businesses in America to feed a growing appetite for crickets, mealworms and other edible insects. These upstarts are trying to persuade more Americans to eat bugs, which can be produced with less land, food and water than other sources of animal protein. But it could be a tough sell for people who are more likely to squash bugs than savour them.
Inside San Francisco's La Cocina, a commercial kitchen for food entrepreneurs, Monica Martinez empties hundreds of live mealworms, each about 2 inches long, into a plastic container. She uses chopsticks to pull out dead ones before pouring the squirming critters on a tray and sliding them into an oven. Martinez started Don Bugito, PreHispanic Snackeria to entice American consumers with treats inspired by popular snacks in her native Mexico. Among her specialties are spicy super worms and chocolate-covered, salted crickets.
The United Nations has been promoting edible insects as a way to improve nutrition, reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and create jobs in insect production. At least 2 billion people worldwide already eat insects as part of their diet, according to the 2013 report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation.
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