Are bugs the food of the future?

7 insects you'll be eating in the future

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As the human population continues to inch closer to 8 billion people, feeding all those hungry mouths will become increasingly difficult. A growing number of experts claim that people will soon have no choice but to consume insects. As if to underscore that claim, a group of students from McGill University in Montreal has won the 2013 Hult Prize, for producing a protein-rich flour made from insects. The prize gives the students $1 million in seed money to begin creating what they call Power Flour. "We will be starting with grasshoppers," team captain Mohammed Ashour told ABC News on Monday (Sept. 30).

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Mopane Caterpillars

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The caterpillars are traditionally boiled in salted water, then sun-dried; the dried form can last for several months without refrigeration, making them an important source of nutrition in lean times. And few bugs are more nutritious: Whereas the iron content of beef is 6 mg per 100 grams of dry weight, mopane caterpillars pack a whopping 31 mg of iron per 100 grams. They're also a good source of potassium, sodium, calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, zinc, manganese and copper, according to the FAO.

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Witchetty Grub

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Among the aboriginal people of Australia, the witchetty grub is a dietary staple. When eaten raw, the grubs taste like almonds; when cooked lightly in hot coals, the skin develops the crisp, flavorful texture of roast chicken. And the witchetty grub is chock full of oleic acid, a healthful omega-9 monounsaturated fat. Though people often refer to the larvae of several different moths as witchetty grubs, some sources specify the larval stage of the cossid moth (Endoxyla leucomochla) as the true witchetty grub. The grubs are harvested from underground, where they feed upon the roots of Australian trees such as eucalyptus and black wattle trees.

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Mealworms

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The larvae of the mealworm beetle (Tenebrio molitor) is one of the only insects consumed in the Western world: They are raised in the Netherlands for human consumption (as well as for animal feed), partly because they thrive in a temperate climate. The nutritional value of mealworms is hard to beat: They're rich in copper, sodium, potassium, iron, zinc and selenium. Mealworms are also comparable to beef in terms of protein content, but have a greater number of healthy, polyunsaturated fats.

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So what do you think? Is there any reason, aside from differing cultural norms, that we shouldn't eat bugs?
Would you? Why or why not?

What if we were able to genetically engineer bugs that tasted like pork or beef or chicken? Would you eat them?