Picture: Screenshot Instagram
FAST foods like burgers are popular across the world. Who does not love a good juicy burger?
In fact, almost every video of a burger on the internet looks enticing with a hot patty, fresh vegetables like tomatoes, onions, pickles, and lettuce along with slices of cheese. What is there to not love about it?
Well, a now-viral clip on the internet will give you a good enough reason to not like burgers. Not just that, it might make your stomach turn, so proceed with caution.
The viral video opens with the man sitting with two plain buns and a bowl full of what looks like toasted bugs on the table. Next, he uses the two halves of the buns to pick the insects and fill them to form a burger.
Satisfied with the quantity of bugs in the bun, he presses the two pieces hard to squash the insects and take out the juices. Next, he bites on this burger.
The clip concludes with the man showing his burger, still filled with bugs, after a couple of bites. The clip was shared along with the text, “Chinese food”.
The video has gone viral and has left many foodies “sick”.
Some chided the man for the combination, while the others spoke about Chinese food in general.
Many also expressed their desire to “unsee” the clip, and some simply left “gagging” emojis on the post.
“Proud to be a vegetarian,” said one user.
Another wrote: “That is the most disgusting sandwich I have ever seen.”
A third user wrote: “Pretty soon, they will start eating each other.”
“Bro this is so disgusting,” read another comment.
Eating insects is not something new.
In 2021, Brood X cicadas, which are also known as the “summer screamers”, emerged as a food trend.
While many people would probably cringe at a cicada's loud mating call and avoid them at all costs, some restaurant owners were taking the opportunity to make a meal of the insects.
Chef Joseph Yoon educates foodies on his social media channel, @brooklynbugs, and prepares insect treats like cicada nymph salad, guacamole and kimchi.
Yoon has made many dishes with the cicada nymphs he has collected and plans to keep creating dishes that encompass every part of the life cycle of the Brood X bugs.
You may be wondering if they are safe to eat.
In 2019, the insect diet was predicted to be one of the biggest trends in South Africa. Trend forecasters revealed that incorporating edible insects into your diet was a healthy choice for people and the environment. How so?
Leah Bessa, the co-founder of Gourmet Grubb, a company that was the first in the world to create ice cream made from insect larvae, listed some of the health benefits of consuming insects:
They are incredibly nutrient-dense
Every insect is unique in its nutritional profile. However, they are all high in protein, fat, and minerals.
The black soldier fly larvae (that we use extensively) have protein and fat content comparable to beef. They also have a higher content of zinc, iron and calcium than beef.
Sustainable and environmentally-friendly to farm
Insects need very little water, feed, and space to grow. They also produce little or no greenhouse gases compared to traditional livestock.
Insects aren't sentient beings, and they grow only under conditions in which they thrive, so the farming conditions cater to their animal welfare needs. The unexplored flavours and textures from a range of insects are there for culinary exploration.
Insects have been eaten in various traditions since the dawn of time, and most of that cooking knowledge is in traditional settings, leaving the Western world oblivious to the tastes and textures that insects can contribute to a dish.
With all the interest and search for new flavours and foods, insects offer a wide range of options that we can explore if we are open to it.
Less climate risk
Insects are farmed indoors in controlled environments and are therefore less at risk of being impacted by external climate patterns, which would affect traditional livestock and crop farming.
Potential to reduce waste
Some insects, like the black soldier fly larvae, can feed on a wide range of organic matter, and thereby reduce some of the "waste" streams from food manufacturing.
For example, the spent grain (leftover from brewing beer) is used to feed the larvae.