More and more people are consuming crickets after learning about the various benefits that they offer. As well as enjoying the pleasant, nutty flavour of these edible bugs, many are pleased to learn that eating is a very eco-friendly activity. Read on to find out why eating crickets is so good for the environment.

A sustainable protein source

Also known as ‘entomophagy’, eating insects can help us sustain the world’s ever-growing population. The livestock industries are struggling to meet the vast global requirement for meat, which means it’s more and more important that people look at alternative sources of protein. The world’s population is expected to rise to an astonishing ten billion within less than thirty years, making it harder and harder for food suppliers to keep up. This is why it’s such a good idea to add sustainable sources of protein like crickets to our diets. When we consume sustainable foods, we place less reliance on other protein products.

Insects versus meat

Around 70% of the globe’s farming land is used by the livestock industry. A third of this is used to grow food for animals. Insects require much less space, and preparing them for consumption generates much fewer greenhouse gases. Several other insects are safe to consume and are far more sustainable. Bugs like mealworms and locusts emit approximately 100 times less greenhouse gases compared with cattle and pigs.

Changing attitudes to entomophagy

Many Western citizens baulked at the idea of eating insects until this was popularised in the media, with many reality TV contestants being forced to consume them to survive. There is much more awareness about the benefits of consuming insects than there was in the past, with increasing numbers of people eating them not just to save the environment but to improve their health too.

There’s growing evidence that crickets are good for us, with research by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies discovering that participants saw a huge rise in Bifidobacterium animalis after a few weeks of eating crickets. This bacterium is known to enhance gastrointestinal and immune system health.

How easy is it to buy crickets?

Getting hold of crickets is easier than you might expect. These nutritious insects are easy to source online, with products like cricket flour and cricket pasta available to purchase from Hoppa. You can make a variety of tasty treats and meals with our cricket-based foods, from breads and biscuits to pizzas and hearty pasta dishes. Coming in a variety of different forms, crickets are one of the most versatile protein sources around.

As insect-eating becomes normalised and the benefits it can bring to the environment become ever clearer, millions of people around the world are expected to make crickets a staple part of their diets. Why not browse our range of cricket protein foods today?