by Detlef Palm
I got seriously alarmed by the alarm raised by the UN and WFP on 27 November, 2020: Rising hunger in drought-stricken southern Madagascar forcing families to eat insects.
Forty years ago, when travelling overland from Ruanda through Uganda, I watched business executives in dark suits, briefcases under their arm, delight in picking termites from the windscreen of the ramshackle bus that stopped every ten minutes at the village well to refill the leaking radiator. The photo below depicts lake flies rising from Lake Malawi. More appetizingly pronounced rake fries by some, the flies are collected and served as pies, locally known as Lake Burgers. In Namibia, not only upmarket restaurants dish up mopane worms. In Oaxaca, Mexico, we tried a local favourite - toasted ants; they are not as crunchy as you may think. Locusts and crickets are among the most abundant edible species, and are usually roasted or deep-fried. Consumers are advised to remove the legs to not risk intestinal constipation.
Entomophagy is an ancient tradition in Asia, Africa and South America. Insect farming has become a big business opportunity; the trade of mopane worms alone in southern Africa is worth 85 million annually. Insects are going to be the next superfood. They reproduce quickly, and have high growth rates. The feed conversion of house crickets is estimated at twice that of chickens, four times that of pigs, and more than 12 times greater than cattle. Start ups are using maggots to make millions. A close look reveals that Madagascar is not only teaming with insects, but also organizations that support insect farming and processing. Evidently, some unaware and undoubtedly western journalist, in search of a story, stumbled across someone eating insects and drew his conclusions. I am confident that WFP experts are aware about the eating habits of the undeniably needy population in southern Madagascar. Even FAO acknowledges that for people around the world, eating insects has always been an integral part of daily life.
My alarm, therefore, was triggered by WFP using an ill-conceived and sensationalist headline and the predictable yuck-effect among its mostly western audience. I wouldn’t have wanted to explain to my neighbour that it is ok to give money to WFP, even though this insect-eating story is very much off course.
Secondly, on a larger scale, I am dismayed with the continuing structural deficiencies that cause hunger in non-conflict areas such as southern Madagascar. The area had experienced repeated droughts; but thirty years ago, using remote sensing of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) in Sudan, we could predict any crop failure well in advance. WFP, providing cash instead of moving bags of food, knows well enough that it is not the actual shortage of food, but failed market mechanisms, lack of economic perceptiveness and government carelessness that cause people to go hungry.
But let us first break with some of the western perceptions about insects. Joining us are the avant-garde barmen in the hottest European nightspots. Their latest Grasshopper 2.0 drink contains Gin, Absinthe, Lemon Juice, Crème de Cacao, egg white, mint, and a dehydrated grasshopper.
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| Grasshopper 2.0 |
Interesting report and well presented. The fact that insects provide substantial nourishment is a positive aspect (although a dehydrated grasshopper makes it somewhat exotic), but how do you deal with the millions of locusts that destroy crops?
ReplyDeleteAs a young boy in Southern Rhodesia (now known as Zimbabwe), locusts were feared by the farming community. They could strip a field of maize absolutely bare in minutes. That said, I used to watch the birds feasting on the locusts until they were completely full; they would then vomit and start the process all over again. Trouble was, we didn't have quite enough birds. Perhaps if we'd have had nets to catch the locusts and king-sized blenders, we could have made short work of the locusts and been able to sell a locust pesto ? Just thinking. . . . .
DeleteKen, the quelea bird of southern Africa is the most common bird on earth, with an estimated 1.3 billion individuals. It is also a weaver bird, and is often referred to as the ‘locust-bird’, as it can destroy a complete harvest. Farmers in southern Africa kill 200 million Queleas every year, to protect their crops. It doesn't affect the population. Birds or locust - it doesn't seem to make a difference. (see here
DeleteYour travelogue was through all of the countries of my youth - many happy and some, not so happy memories. Getting back to the king-size blender: The product would have had to be named pest-o, don't you think ? Very appropriate.
DeleteExcellent perspective!
ReplyDeleteWhen we were in Congo (former Zaire) we thought they ate all kinds of insects and animals, but when we reached China, we noted that they beat the Congolese!
Being a vegetarian, I had only heard of insects as food. Then came my Nigeria posting, to a small town called Bauchi, where I witnessed the young and the old relishing crickets. Crickets swarm the lamp posts by millions when monsoon or pre monsoon showers arrive. Such occasions were akin a treat to them. It wasn't hunger. Just change of taste. It wasn't a sight to behold to see them plucking the crickets from the ground and well, just eat those alive. No, I am not passing a judgement here. Each ones food differs. The article reminded me of Nigeria days.
ReplyDeleteA UNICEF colleague advised that the EU food safety agency just now declared the yellow mealworm safe for humans to eat. This move paves way for high-protein maggot-like insect to be approved for consumption across Europe. Here a recipe from the article in The Guardian: … a yellow mealworm cupcake is easy to knock up with three tablespoons of cocoa, 60g of margarine, an egg, a tablespoon of low-fat yoghurt, 30g of flour and 25g of powdered mealworm….don’t forget to glaze the top of the freshly baked cupcakes with some icing sugar – and add the spare mealworms on top for decoration. See https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/13/yellow-mealworm-safe-for-humans-to-eat-says-eu-food-safety-agency
ReplyDeleteAs the adage goes, one man's food is another man's poison!
ReplyDeleteI had the interesting experience as a vegetarian, as guest of honor at the Minister's lunch in Vietnam to be served a fried sparrow at the end of the meal.. a tad too much for me but my adventurous UNICEF colleague, with bravado, picked it up and crunch!! crunch! ate my serving as well and seemed to enjoy it.