By Doug Quist – Thailand Unique
As legend has it, the world -renowned Fab Four were greatly influenced by Buddy Holly’s combo, the Crickets. Known as the Quarrymen in their early days, John, Paul and company decided in 1960 it was time for a new identity. So they settled on an insect name in honor of Buddy Holly’s band. It was only a matter of time before the Beatles entered “The Toppermost of the Poppermost” and the world was never the same. Bug Power.
When the Beatles took the world by storm, no one was offended by their name and it is obvious why – people wanted to meet the Beatles, not eat the Beatles. So perhaps it is a bigger challenge appealing to people’s taste buds with new food varieties than their ears with pleasing sounds such as the Beatles provided. Keep in mind, it was the older generation who hated the Beatles and wrote them off as a fad. It was the younger generation that embraced the Beatles and made them a part of our culture.
Don’t bug me
A wise woman once said, “You are what you eat.”
Perhaps we are now at a stage in history parallel to the dawn of Beatlemania, but instead of a new sound, we are in search of new food, food that will be healthy and palatable as well as environmentally sustainable.
We have already seen many changes in our everyday eating habits. Our general perception of food has changed markedly in the last generation as we chant the new mantra: eat healthy. As a result of massive research, we see governments applying stricter guidelines on the labeling of packaged foods and addressing the more recent controversy of GMO or Genetically modified Organisms. Additionally, we search for new sources of nutrition which will enable us to sustain our increasing population in the coming years.
Nowadays we see the emergence of a global, commercial, edible insect industry striving to provide us with an alternative source of nutrition. However, the question arises: will food that contains edible insects taste as bad as most health food? The health food industry has provided boon and boost in improving the nutritional quality of commercial food, enabling the general public to maintain a healthier diet than in years past. On the downside, people eat health foods, but still crave the addictive taste of that beloved junk food, replete with sugar, additives, and those god forsaken preservatives. What do you want good health or good taste? Why can’t we have good health and good taste? And why oh why does healthy food cost more?
Enter Crickets
And now we turn to bugs.. Ugh!!! But wait a minute, what about eating cows and pigs? How does that sound? In some cultures, eating cows and pigs is plain dirty, not to mention the natural resources needed to raise and farm these creatures in order to bring them to market. So perhaps it is a matter of public perception that prevents us from leaping ahead to the era of edible insects. In this day and age of social media, perhaps we are only one Public Relation’s gimmick away from “insectmania,” As we know, every talent agency is looking for the “next Beatles”. Could crickets once again inspire the way??? Thirty years ago who would have thought about “surfing the web” or taking a “selfie” or that something gone viral would make us laugh?
There are a multitude of web sites promoting the benefits of crickets. Our web site, Thailand Unique offers an array of edible insect products that are healthy, easy to purchase and economical as well. Don’t just believe us, check out these websites and do your own fact checking”
• 8 Health Benefits of Crickets
• Six Reasons you need to try Cricket Powder
• 6 Reasons Eating Crickets is our Future
Food for thought
You will hear more and more about insects as an alternative food source in the coming months and years. In this age of the global village, we need to free our minds and at least try new sources of food; food that is healthy, tasty and affordable. We owe it to ourselves and our children. Remember, “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.” So it is all the more urgent that we feed ourselves and stay green while doing it.
Finally and ironically, the sport cricket does not derive its name from acheta domestica (house cricket).
