Insect Festival Aims To Make American Children Okay With Eating Insects?
Insect Festival Aims To Make American Children Okay With Eating Insects?
The Brooklyn Bug Festival traveled across the United States during the summer after the first festival was kicked-off in August. The bug festival aimed to bring insects and humans closer together. Once the festival started, the organizer of the festivals, Joseph Yoon, did not waste anytime attempting to convince children that insects taste good. It turns out that a big part of the festival was to persuade children to eat properly prepared insects. This strategy makes sense since these kids may, at some point, have to consume insects for protein in the future. This is a future where every McDonald’s restaurant in the country serves termite patties to its customers. This future may seem bleak to us now, but the insect enthusiasts working with the bug festival would like to convince us that insects could replace traditional sources of protein in western nations.
The United Nations has predicted that the world’s population will reach nine billion by 2050. The UN has also predicted a future food crises as a result of global overpopulation. Once the world becomes inhabited by nine billion people, current rates of food production will have to increase by seventy percent. That is a pretty tall order, even for McDonald’s.
These statistics have been unsettling to many prominent scientists who insist that a solution to this possible food-shortage must be found soon. As you already know, scientists, academics and other experts believe that edible insects are the key to future survival. However, you may not have realized that children in America, and other western countries, are being pressured to consume different types of insects. Yoon, has even consulted with experts in education in order to develop an all day educational program that is aimed at persuading children to eat insects. This is probably a good thing, but I still feel lucky that I am not a kid today.
Do you think that making children aware of edible insects, and their many benefits, is important today? Do you believe that consuming insects can be normalized in western culture by targeting children?
