Okay, so I hav a few friends on fb who comment about how they plan to cook and eat cicadas. I thought they were joking...nope! They are actually cooking them different ways and EATING THEM. How gross.
Do you eat Cicadas? Is that even safe? I remember stepping on them when I was young and they were really gooey! If my memory is correct is was also green!
Why on earth do people eat them?!
I didn't even realize they were out yet, I haven't seen or heard one.
Me personally? No, I don't eat them. But millions of people in Asia and other parts of the world DO eat them along with a variety of other insects. It's completely normal for a very large number of people.
Someone people might ask why on earth you eat pork, and consider that to be just as filthy.
That being said, no, I don't eat bugs. ;)
So weird to read this question today! No, I don't eat bugs, but my husband was just reading something this morning that said only the US and Western Europe consider this a cultural taboo, but many countries around the world eat all kinds of bugs. They are a good source of protein and these "farmers" can produce up to 8 times more food than farmers that raise livestock. Some guy in (Arizona or Utah I think) has come up with some kind of recipe for a bug protein bar and apparently they sell very well. Yuck! I'm all about eating healthy and starting to cross over into the organic, raw food arena, but I don't think that is a cultural taboo I will ever come to terms with!
A.
This has been in the international news lately because the UN has released a study suggesting that the consumption of insects could go a long way to providing a lot of the world's nutrition needs. Apparently 80% of the world's population already consumes insects in their diet. Eating oysters and prawns would have been weird too at one stage, but we got used to it. We could get used to insects.
No, I couldn't do it - they are so big! I have eaten two kinds of insects (small ones) in Zimbabwe. They are a normal part of the diet there for most people. One was pretty good. The other one I did not like the texture!
No, because I'm not THAT worried about my carbon footprint.
I eat lentils, not bugs ;-)
nope... I don't eat cicadas....
But... as many people have already pointed out, there are many parts of the world that utilize insects as sources of protein...
And...
there's some strange festival in Maine every year where they see who can come up with the best recipes for June Bugs! (I couldn't find a link, but yes, I saw it on TV... probably on the bizarre foods program..)
But... here's a link to a bug festival in Austin, TX every year... yuck!
http://austin.eater.com/archives/2012/06/05/austin-bug-fe...
It is my understanding that they are a good source of protein. This is an acceptable food source in some cultures. I'd likely skip them if offered but I'm perfectly OK with other people eating them.
Some people are grossed out by us eating pigs; right?
I never have, but people all over the world live off of eating things I would not consider "normal" every day food. I will try just about anything once. lIving overseas for almost 10 years I have tried many dishes I thought sounded gross or strange, and many of them turned out to be yummy.
Gross!! We had a "department" all hands the other week and it was also a chili cook-off. I am weary enough of pot lucks, but then a chili one? No thanks! On top of that, there were bowls of fried cicada's scattered about - EW! I went to my kids school for a peace day parade on Friday, and a lady was walking around with a bag catching them - I wanted to vomit.
We can hear them at our house, but I have yet to see one in our neighborhood. Where my son plays baseball is very near the woods, but I haven't seen them there either. Where my other son plays football - they are insane. Gross. One ended up IN my shirt yesterday. I about stripped naked on the field. I don't do bugs at all, and cicada's are beyond gross. They should be gone soon!
They are edible.
Many things are.
But just because you can doesn't mean you should.
In theory there's no reason why we can't eat cats, dogs, horses, rats.
In survival situations, some people survived by eating people who didn't.
I've never eaten a cicada.
I'd almost say I'd never eat one, but then if I were hungry enough - starving - yeah, I might give insects a try.
Yes, it's safe. And no, I won't eat them. They look like giant horseflies. Ugh.
Yes, it's safe. In some areas the cicadas are so dense and so loud that they can reach decibels louder than a rock concert. One way to reduce the population is for people to collect them and cook as many as possible.
They're harmless, just annoying, including how edible they are. But you won't find me willingly or knowingly eating bugs. :-)
Disgusting!! Bugs are not the same as eating animals. When we eat animals we eat their muscle or organs (meat). Bugs don't have muscle they have a crunchy exoskeleton and are filled with gooey guts. SICK!!!! LOL
Ew! Ew! Nobody here in northern VA mentioning eating them! They are everywhere here in south Ffx County & loud & creepy!
P
Most insects are not only safe to eat, but quite a quite nutritious renewable resource. I have never done it, but in theory I think it is probably a good thing. I have never seen a cicada, although I think I have heard them. We do have some species of them here, but most prefer warmer climates.
Oh gross. That sounds like something that they eat in other parts of the world, like you see on those "extreme" something or other shows.
Try not to think about it. It will just make you queasy to your stomach...
No We don't eat bugs.How gross.If my husband cooked bugs one day i would puke.That's why i cook sometimes.I know bugs are in are food but not when i can see a dead bug on my plate haha.
-K.
I don't, but the idea doesn't bother me at all. It's not weird or gross, it's just different.
I did hear a detailed report about eating cicadas this time, since many folks seem interested in trying them, but it noted that unless you know precisely whether the ground they're in has had any pesticides or other pollutants on it in recent years -- don't do it; the bugs' bodies do pick up toxins and pollutants. I assume that my yard, near the bottom of a slope, likely has all the neighbors' years' of pesticides and fertilizers in it and I'd never eat anything that came out of the ground.
I have NEVER even heard of such a bug..
Umm, yuck! But I guess if you have ever watched Survivor, it is common for some cultures to eat things we would not think of as appetizing.
Ick - no. But if anyone wants them there are a crapload of the 17-year cicadas swarming my town right now. Feel free to cart them off - the sound is deafening.
