To Bee or Not To Bee . . .

. . . or Sorry I Asked

"Starbucks is coming under fire from vegans for using ground-up bugs to color its Frappuccinos, but the use of cochineal insects is actually quite common in the food industry."

Here's What You Need To Know About The Ground-Up Insects Starbucks Puts In Your Frappuccino | Business Insider 

Bugs in our food - included by intention or by accident - is, actually, old news. But this isn't: Big Cricket Farms - the first commercial farm to raise crickets for human consumption.

"Finally, crickets just taste good!"

The 2014 startup is in Youngstown, Ohio, and I understand that when the crickets get loose, the owner will hire exterminators for his neighbors.

Heads up, foodies, bugs are the new trend in food according to Tiny Farms:

"With UN recommendations and exciting new startups, the market for edible bugs and insect-based products is growing like never before."

From an NPR blog, The Salt, (the tag line of which is what's on your plate [the answer to which, it appears, is good question]):

"Lots of people are excited about the potential of edible insects. A 2013 report from the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization noted that insects like crickets, mealworms and grasshoppers are nutritional powerhouses, high in protein, fat and the essential amino acids lysine and tryptophan, which are scarce in cereal proteins like soy. Insects also can be farmed on far less land and emit fewer greenhouse gases than traditional livestock."

Startups Pitch Cricket Flour As The Best Protein You Could Eat

Not convinced? Eating bugs is also the right thing to do for the environment:

"The challenge with Six Foods is to convince the rest of America that eating insects is the best thing since sliced bread. When you look at the facts, it’s really a no-brainer: the livestock industry produces 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions, more than all forms of transportation combined, but insects produce just 1% as many greenhouse gas emissions as cows. Raising insects requires far less land, feed, and water than raising livestock, and furthermore, insects don’t feel pain since they don’t have pain receptors (so you can feel less bad the next time one dies from flying into your face as you bike to work)."

How to make insects appetizing to Americans | Boing Boing

Decide for yourself. You can pre-order Chirps, shipping in November - just in time for Thanksgiving - a cricket-based, high protein, chip snack. There are three flavors to choose from:

• Aged Cheddar - "A zesty cheese seasoning that matches perfectly with the bean base for a delightfully addictive flavor kick."

• Sea Salt - "All-natural flavors . . . "

• Hickory BBQ: "Taste the summer . . ."

Taste of summer?

Uh, no thanks.