INSECT FARMING IS AGRICULTURE AS DYSTOPIAN FUTURE AS AMERICAN MANUFACTURING

The arguments for eating bugs have been swarming midge-like around our heads for the better part of a decade. Yes, if you bake a mealworm and dust it in mesquite seasoning it’s got the taste of barbecued ribs and the mouthfeel of a Rice Krispie. Yes, the West’s entomophagic hang-ups can be traced back to a low supply of cold-weather bugs and high demand for cold-weather calories. Yes, the global population needs to find a new protein source that doesn’t cause devastating methane emissions or leech off corn subsidies. But, no, it’s not simply about choosing the buggy path. Crickets aren’t a food system’’s panacea. What they are, in a way, is a mascot for the bug husbandry industry, the emblem for insect producers looking to add to the the world’s chitinous biomass — for every 10 pounds of human flesh, the planet holds one ton of bugs — on the way to profit.

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