Article Discussion

May 2023
 Intro questions

• Have you ever eaten an insect? If so, how did it taste? If not,
how would you feel about it?

• How common is it for people to eat insects where you live

• Do you think insects will be a part of everyone's diet in the near

future?

• Have you made any dietary choices or changes for

environmental reasons?
 Edible Insect Businesses Growing in Japan

Most people would complain if they found a fly in their soup. But at the Take-
Noko cafe in Taito ward, Tokyo, insects are all over the menu.

There you can try curry made with silkworms, pasta with crickets, and
silkworm cocoon sashimi. The cafe is run by the Takeo company, which also
sells insects as food online. And the future looks good for Takeo.

The company is now working with the major food company Nichirei to
develop a new food product from insects, which will be announced in
summer 2023.

Farming insects for food is also a growing business in Japan.

For example, one company, Gryllus, is now working with telecommunications
company NTT East to use technology to develop better ways to farm crickets.
But why eat insects?
Well, in 2013, the UN released a report suggesting that insects could help solve the
problem of world hunger.

According to the report, insects have lots of protein and minerals. Farming insects is
cheap and produces fewer greenhouse gases than farming animals. And in many parts
of the world, eating insects is not unusual.

This is also true in some parts of Japan. In Nagano, for example, eating insects such as
grasshoppers is traditional, and the village of Kushihara in Gifu has a wasp eating
festival every November.

Still don't want to eat insects?

Well, the truth is, you probably already have.

There is a common red food coloring called carmine that is used around the world in all
kinds of foods: ice cream, yogurt, candy, soft drinks and cakes. It's also used in makeup.
And carmine is made from insects.
 Q&A
• What kind of insect-based dishes does Take-Noko offer?

• What types of insects are traditionally eaten in Nagano?

• What is carmine used for?

• What are your thoughts on the Take-Noko cafe's menu?

• What are the strangest foods you've eaten?

• What foods eaten in your country do you think foreigners might find
unusual?

• Are there any foods that you can't stand the taste or smell of?

• Eating insects is a matter of taste, culture and opportunity. It's not

really any different from eating sushi or oysters. — Arnold van Huis.
What are your thoughts on this statement?