comment: >
  
  The people asking Americans to eat bugs are a bunch of hypocritical globalists who eat the most expensive meats, wines, and cheeses. Dine at the finest restaurants while they fly private and sail on their yachts. It's absurd.
context: /u/llhoptown (OP) has awarded 2 delta(s) in this post.
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  Please note that a change of view doesn't necessarily mean a reversal, or that the conversation has ended.
  ^Delta System Explained ^| ^Deltaboards >
  
  I agree with the "can" part of your argument. The "will" part is a whole other story. 
  If something tastes good and is safe to eat, people can most definitely get used to eating it. But good taste alone is not enough for society to get used to eating something. You could argue that almost anything edible can be made to taste good with enough salt, fat, and or sugar. The hurdle for bugs is that there is the cultural factor and psychological disgust factor that most people have on eating bugs.
  If there was some immense catastrophe that made bugs our only food option, bugs would quickly become part of every culture's food. 
  There just isn't enough of a widespread reason for people to eat bugs as opposed to what they're used to eating. Since there's no reason for it, people wont eat it, and thus won't get used to eating them. >
  
  OP is a commie >
  
  Bugs are not new, people have been eating them throughout history. 
  Thing is, as an area becomes wealthy, they stop eating them. Nobody's swapping back from a western diet to insects.
  Lobster isn't the same. Lobster may have raised its status, but it was always eaten, and scarcity lent it some status/price increases. Bugs are not generally going to be a scarce supply in the way that seafood can be, and thus cannot ever become a Veblen good in that fashion. >
  
  
  Nobody's swapping back from a western diet to insects
  
  I had a professor from Africa. He would light up every time he told us about growing up and eating locusts. >
  
  I have a coworker who talks fondly of the time his ~~day~~dad hit him because “He knew I’d gotta away with something, just didn’t know what”. 
  Just because someone has a found memory of something doesn’t mean it’s healthy. >
  
  When you don't have enough to eat, that which contains calories is likely to be healthy. I assure you that Americans are pretty much the last people to listen to regarding nutrition, considering our history. >
  
  Yes I'd agree...the local organic store by me has fried crickets and they're low cal/high protein and I love them. A bit too pricey, but still enjoyable every now and then. If Rogan had some dude on that said bugs are great for gains or some bs about Test levels, people would line up to eat bugs. 
  I don't think people should be forced to eat anything, but there's no way that the American diet is not partly due to influence and control by meat/diary industry. I love eating meat and different types of animals. It's weird online thing to be like they're going to force you to eat bugs. Like yeah I'd take bugs over whatever weird process foods exist in most stores. >
  
  The Dairy Council and the Meat lobby are amateurs compared to Big Sugar. Our entire medical system is still using the food pyramid dreamed up by cereal salesmen in the 1890's. >
  
  Taste alone won't do it.  You'll need to make sure they also have a pleasing texture.  Not too dry and crispy with no "meat".  Not too slimy or gelatinous.  Tasting bad, of course, is a non-starter.  But tasting good is just one of several aspects that needs to be accomplished to result in frequent and happy consumption. >
  
  I did meant texture along with taste, but sure !delta >
  
  It’s refreshing to see a delta instead of arguing semantics and “that’s not what I meant” like we see too often here. >
  
  I don’t think it would have been semantics assuming his point was that if the sensory characteristics of bugs can be improved, humans will like eating them, like the idea of eating a bug doesn’t have to be gross. >
  
  I know a lot of people who won't eat certain things I consider delicious, like for example goose or Wild boar. It's not about appeareance (because they at least partially look like animals we eat) but simply the thought of eating those animals specifically. This is a irrational mindset, yes, but it does exist. It basically goes that certain things aren't supposed to be eaten, no matter how delicious they are. Bugs are usually considered in that category. So it's not (only) about taste or even texture, but truly psychology.
  Now you did mentioned crustaceans, like lobster, however those didn't had the aforementioned issue, at least not as much. And in the case of lobster specifically, which might have jumpstarted the whole campaign, there's a funny story about it.
  Lobsters were abundant in america, so abundant that it was given to poorer families and considered  Meal for the poor, or something along the lines. Until lobsters became close to eradicated in north america, where they were seen a luxurious food then due to their new rarity. At that point the poor wanted to eat it because they started to like it, and the rich wanted to eat it because it was expensive. This even almost started a war, the 'Lobster War'. I don't really see this being an exemplary case for bugs, and even then, such a situation happening again in our modern world is doubtful. >
  
  
  It basically goes that certain things aren't supposed to be eaten, no matter how delicious they are. Bugs are usually considered in that category. So it's not (only) about taste or even texture, but truly psychology.
  
  Which, as the variety and diversity of foods in different cultures show, can change like the wind. >
  
  Not as drastically as this would require it. Especially europe and north america are disgusted by bugs in general. Again, this is more about psychology than culture. Many people have arachnophobia (I know spiders aren't insects, but many people don't care about taxonomy enough to see a notable difference), and you're suggesting people will suddenly accept eating something comparable to that, let alone in a gridlocked cultural development that only progresses through intercultural mixture based on similarities. >
  
  
  Many people have arachnophobia 
  
  People are scared of scorpions too and they will gladly eat crawfish which is nearly identical in appearance. What we think looks appetizing is a cultural concept and entirely dependent on what foods we think taste good. >
  
  But agains, it's not appearance, it's psychology. A scorpion and a fish aren't the same thing. People like eating fish and crustaceans, so crawfish isn't that different (and doesn't looks like a scorpion at all). However eating an insect (again, people tend to ignore taxonomy and consider scorpions and spiders as such) is disgusting simply because they are insects.
  No, it does depend on what tastes good, but there are multiple factors, not only taste. Texture, appeareance and simply what it is matters as well. If I had a literal garbage bag, which for the sake of argument is completely healthy and tastes good, many people would still not want to it it because the thought of eating trash is disgusting to them.
  But hey, since you said psychology can change like the wind, maybe cannibalism will be on topic as much as bugs do. In both cases it's something people consider disgusting, but with some super sauce to make them tasty, people would eat, by your CMV, anyways. I wouldn't say that, again, because of psychology, but your counterpoint is that things can change. So yeah, cannibalism for 2030? >
  
  Why do you think this? Do cows not taste good? Yet Indians still do not eat them due to a strong cultural stigma against eating them. Do pigs not taste good? Yet Muslims or Jews don't eat them. Westerners have a very strong stigma against eating bugs. It's true it's not a religious stigma but it's pretty damn strong.
  Food is more than taste good = people will consume it no matter what cultural influences there are.
  Attempts to encourage the eating of bugs especially as a cheap alternative to meat for the lower class in preparation for restricting or taxing meat consumption comes off as incredibly degrading to most people. >
  
  The criticism isn't generally focused on eating bugs is a terrible idea. It's that bugs are an acceptable substitute for meat.
  Usually within the context of rich and powerful getting meat, but working class people need to eat bugs. The focus is on the have and have nots. Working class are told to sacrifice, while the rich get even more.
  If rich people universally replaced their meat consumption with bugs, there'd be less of a reaction. >
  
  I tried crickets one time... Actually two times. (They were fried and had seasoning on them, so tasted pretty decent.) The first time I was fine. The second I broke out in itchy hives. I'm not 100% sure it was the crickets because I tried some other odd things that day too, but I've ruled out some of the other ones since. 
  It's completely possible to be allergic to chitin, which would be a factor hurting some people's ability to get used to eating them even if they get past the stigma. >
  
  I saw an episode of Naked and Afraid where a guy had an allergic reaction to crickets.  The narrator said it isn’t a uncommon >
  
  Apart from the fact that bugs as a source of replacement protein is a media hype and nothing more.. bugs are just scary, dude. Like I for one have a severe phobia of basically all bugs. I've had persisting night terrors from just having a bug on my bed one time, I have whole parts of my OCD dedicated to bugs, I recently had to make my parents drive over from 20 minutes away just to kill a cockroach because I couldn't and ended up having a panic attack in the process. I don't want them in my vicinity, you could not pay me to put one in my mouth. Now I know not everyone is as bad as me, but most people don't like bugs. They wouldn't want to touch them or have them crawling around, and I don't really think that's societal because there are definitely lizard brain reasons to be afraid of/have an aversion to bugs. Even the non venomous and poisonous ones can still cause nasty bites which could get infected and kill you. So yeah, if you wanted people to eat bugs for whatever reason, you're not just bugpilling people by opening their stupid western eyes or whatever. You're gonna have to get past their lizard brains. Stuff like cricket flour products might be your best bet, just because the bug is in something that looks appetizing as opposed to it being the dish itself. >
  
  You may be right in a long term sense, as with any food, if it doesn’t taste good we won’t eat it.  Taste doesn’t matter though if no one will put it in their mouth though.  More important in the short term is probably making them not look like bugs to get over that first hurdle.  
  Cricket and mealworm flour are already out there, and can be easily substituted for nut flour in most recipes.  Many people would still be mad if you fed them cricket muffins without telling them, but a decent number wouldn’t.  Hanging someone a recognizable food like a muffin and saying it has cricket flour is far more likely to work than handing them a plate of garlic sautéed whole crickets regardless of taste. >
  
  Maybe this is a location bias for me, but in the desert areas in California and Nevada, as well as areas throughout the Midwest, “bug” lollipops are a thing. You can get scorpions and similar bugs in lollipops at gas stations and tourist shops. I doubt tourists commonly eat them, more likely just buy them as novelties, but I know locals do, particularly children. They obviously find it kind of silly and fun, but they are willing to eat it, despite its appearance. >
  
  It's not just taste alone, it's texture and that bugs in general are just considered gross pests by a lot of people, the same way that eating mice and rats wouldn't be popular, though some eat them and they probably aren't much different than eating something like a rabbit. Also you have to think about how with current snacks like a bag of chips, the bottom of the bag has crumbs that no one thinks twice about eating, imagine with insects instead of crumbs, you get a ton of cricket legs and wings. That would gross many people out even if they liked the taste. >
  
  I’m sorry, I don’t really want bugs anywhere near me where I can see them - why would I want them knowingly in my mouth? 
  They freak me out. 
  I know people eat them and that some people I know even like crickets served at a Mexican restaurant for instance, but I just can’t. I don’t care how they taste- they could taste like blue gummy bears or pizza and it’s still a “nope” from me if they look like a bug or if bugs are the main ingredient. >
  
  
  In Western culture, there is a lot of stigma behind bugs—for no other reason other than the social concept that bugs aren't really meant to be food.
  
  It's not just 'Western' culture. Islam prohibits eating bugs except locusts (because Mohammad allegedly ate them while on military campaign) and Judaism prohibits it altogether. 
  From what I can find, about 2 billion people eat insects and therefore insect eaters are a minority. It seems inaccurate to me to describe this taboo as 'western'. >
  
  None of what you said is relevant. Religious taboos fall under "social concept". I also didn't know that many people already eat bugs, and I don't see how that refutes my point. >
  
  Throughout your post, you write as if the taboo against eating insects is a western thing. I showed it wasn't. It's a  thing for 75% of the population.
  Only 25% of the world's population eats insects, and among those are some people who are not doing it by choice. It's probably not a coincidence that the highest # of countries where insects are consumed, are in sub-saharan Africa. >
  
  
  Only 25%
  
  !delta for unexpectedly proving OP's point to me and changing my view.
  I'm not a vegan or a vegetarian, but I support insect consumption because it is sustainable. 
  Your fact that 25% of the humans on this planet regularly consume insect protein has changed my previous view that insects will not become a regular food source in the future.
  Now I believe the food source will become normalized, not only because they are delicious, nutritious, and sustainable, but because humans have clearly demonstrated their adaptability to culturally normalizing their consumption. That was precisely OP's point. Thank you. >
  
  Yeah I didn't even know that. The dude said "only 2 billion people eat insects" and I was like "wait TWO BILLION people eat insects? This is not helping whatever point you're trying to make right now." >
  
  I think his argument was saying that they can eat bugs and live or starve. 
  Bugs will always be a niche or trendy thing to try unless some major catastrophe happens that makes other proteins unobtainable even then plant based will most likely be preferred. >
  
  Redditors apparently seem to be unable to comprehend the sense of disgust. >
  
  A large part of disgust is a social construct. People were disgusted by lobsters a century ago and now many people find them appetizing. >
  
  
  People were disgusted by lobsters a century ago
  
  150 years ago they were overfished to the point that they are still expensive, whereas before that people on the East coast could collect them by the barrel-full after sever storms. >
  
  And as long as the price stays high and people buy they will never recover. >
  
  They will and do occupy the same niche of any farmable animal we find particularly tasty, though, and we will keep them from extinction. >
  
  Ideally.
  There are spices/herbs that were so tasty that the ancient Romans/Greeks/Parthians harvested them to extinction. And no one will ever taste them again.
  There are MANY MANY animals that humans/hominids used to love to eat that are now extinct.
  Seriously, go google "hunted to extinction" and then get back to me on this.
  Like, the 'right whale' would like a word... >
  
  Crab-type species are heartier than most. Also we are already farming lobster. Not arguing about human nature, just in this case the infrastructure already exists. If they were as popular as they are now and we had no way to raise them outside of harvesting them wild I would worry about them. >
  
  People had this exact same level of comfortability with killing bison, or passenger pigeons, and made strikingly similar arguments to justify their behaviour.
  Farming them doesn't help.
  Farmed cows/pigs/chickens are worthless as wild species.
  Farmed lobster will be no different. >
  
  
  Farmed cows/pigs/chickens are worthless as wild species.
  
  I don't know from cows, but chickens, pigs and horses all go back to native-type behavior as wild species within a single generation. And we're not deliberately hunting the lobster to extinction in order to sabotage the life cycle of a native tribe, so I don't think bison are a fair comparison. >
  
  You know nothing if you think the chicken/cow species being raised in factory farms today could ever make it in the wild. Go google "battery cage breeders"
  Most of them are incapable of even standing upright, or walking at all, let alone running from a threat. >
  
  Why not ask yourself instead : why people eat bug?
  People eat bugs in place where other food are not available not by choice. Poverty and overpopulation exist sadly. >
  
  No, that is in fact an objectively false statement.
  Something can "taste good" and "cause birth defects when measured over a long enough period of time" >
  
  Sorry, u/inyourdreams8 – your comment has been removed for breaking Rule 1:
  
  Direct responses to a CMV post must challenge at least one aspect of OP’s stated view (however minor), or ask a clarifying question. Arguments in favor of the view OP is willing to change must be restricted to replies to other comments. See the wiki page for more information.  
  
  If you would like to appeal, you must first check if your comment falls into the "Top level comments that are against rule 1" list, review our appeals process here, then message the moderators by clicking this link within one week of this notice being posted. 
  Please note that multiple violations will lead to a ban, as explained in our moderation standards. >
  
  You can already buy cricket flour (although it's relatively expensive compared to regular flour or even nut flours) and it apparently taste fine when incorporated into baked goods but few people seem eager to try it. I don't think it's just a taste thing -- as others have said there's a big cultural component. >
  
  That's what I said. It's only a social concept that people don't like eating bugs currently. >
  
  That assumes that our tastebuds have 0 evolutionary programming. But they do.
  Culture is only 50% of it. The other 50% is genes. Bugs taste like shit for a reason. A lot of them have dangerous concentrations of pathogens. >
  
  
  Culture is only 50% of it. The other 50% is genes. Bugs taste like shit for a reason. A lot of them have dangerous concentrations of pathogens.
  
  Where did you get these numbers from? I tried looking into this and found absolutely nothing. Are they just your own estimates? >
  
  Own estimations :)
  If you don't know the best guess is 50/50 nature and nurture. >
  
  If you don't have any data to draw on maybe you should just leave the numbers out. Besides, the fact that humans eat tons of food that would based on evolution set off all kinds of alarm bells (rotten/fermented foods for example) seems to counter the argument that we couldn't possibly be socialized to eat bugs because 'evolution.' >
  
  Crawfish are good. People that are rich eat crawfish in the south. As you are cracking the little buggers in half and tossing their husks into a pile, you cannot help but to notice that their underside looks like the underside of a roach. Nevertheless you grab the next one. *Shrug* >
  
  My wife is from a culture that eats horse, she doesn't eat it. Me being western I love that shit. It's not about taste. Technically bull balls are edible, but I will never eat them. It's more of a mental issue that if it tastes good or if it's edible >
  
  That's a definite no from me. >
  
  Bugs taste like dirt.  Not a big fan of the taste. >
  
  Boss are gross and disgusting, therefore I won't eat them. Don't care if they taste good >
  
  I do not and will not ever eat shellfish because they are just giant bugs >
  
  I rather not consume any meat at all than eat insects.
  There aren't many things that disgust me due to my upbringing but cockroaches and maggots are fucking disgusting. >
  
  Eat whatever you want just don’t try to force others to eat it or hide it in our food. >
  
  I couldn't eat something that looks like a bug. This isn't different from meat or fish, cause I couldn't eat a fish with the head attached, or am animal that looks too much like the animal, either. I'm certainly not alone in this.
  I don't see why bugs would be easier to get over, if anything, it's harder because I also find them creepy when still alive.
  Now, if you somehow processed them to be unrecognizable into a tasty hamburger, I think quite some people would actually get used to that (assuming you're honest about the ingredients, of course, or else there will be public outrage for sure) >
  
  What in the brexit hell is this? >
  
  It’s not just about taste, it’s also about culture. People still follow trends. Right now eating bugs is still gross culturally, so no one wants to be a weirdo and eat them. There is no incentive there. If some celebrities, TikTokers and YouTubers all started eating bugs casually and marketing them to be good, people would jump on em. First it would be the kids and teens, but soon their parents will try them and it will spread from there. And if they a good, then they will stick. But without that cultural shift, there is no reason normal people would be motivated to start eating bugs. >
  
  But that's what I said in the post, that people only don't eat bugs not because of taste or appearance but because its a social concept that bugs aren't food—aka a cultural construct. >
  
  What's the key advantage of bugs over beans?  What's the killer app that will make people get over their feelings on bugs when vegetable protein is cheaper and more efficient? >
  
  Thank you! I came here to say the same thing. 
  Some people are so brainwashed into the idea of "gotta eat meat!" that they'd rather chomp on bugs than beans or tofu or falafel or hummus or the hundreds of other plant protein sources.  
  Friggin weird. Although, bugs do have that sweet, sweet vitamin B12 built right in. For me, I'll take a supplement. >
  
  I don't eat crustaceans and wouldn't eat a bug even if you told me they were delicious.
  Which "people" is your view talking about? This is a vague view, it may as well be "people who are open to eating bugs if they taste good will eat bugs"
  I believe the "western stigma" as you put it comes down to religion, as insects are proscribed against in the bible. >
  
  
  I don't eat crustaceans and wouldn't eat a bug even if you told me they were delicious.
  
  A majority of Americans and Europeans eat shellfish or crustaceans, so you don't really represent the culinary habits of Western society.
  
  Which "people" is your view talking about? This is a vague view, it may as well be "people who are open to eating bugs if they taste good will eat bugs"
  
  No, it's "Western society, as a majority, can get used to eating bugs." There are plenty of people who hold your current view of "I wouldn't eat a bug even if they were delicious", either based on appearance or cultural taboos. 
  Same reason why most people don't like the idea of eating horsemeat—because Western society sees the horse as a companion animal and not as a food animal. It's all a social construct that can be easily changed. Westerners find it hard to imagine a modern society of bug-eaters but there are already several countries that regularly consume bugs. >
  
  Horse meat is popular in Europe and the UK.
  
  "Western society, as a majority, can get used to eating bugs." 
  
  Why have you put quote marks around something that does not appear in your OP? Feels like moving the goalposts. >
  
  
  Horse meat is popular in Europe and the UK.
  
  Well then great, thanks for proving my point.
  
  Feels like moving the goalposts.
  
  Please explain to me how what I quoted contradicts anything in my post.
  Also, why would you quote "people who will be open to eating bugs if they taste good can be made to eat bugs" as if I said it—feels like a strawman. Same logic. >
  
  
  It's the opposite of your point.
  
  No, it's exactly my point that social concepts of what should and shouldn't be eaten are entirely cultural constructs and can change all the time. The fact that horse is popular in Europe would suggest that it can also become popular in the US, even though currently many people in the US would be disgusted with the idea of eating horse due to its cultural status as a companion animal. >
  
  
  many people in the US would be disgusted with the idea of eating horse due to its cultural status as a companion animal.
  
  This suggests that they will not be eating horse anytime soon.
  Do you think that may also explain why they won't be normalising eating bugs anytime soon?
  Do you think the reason people don't like the idea of eating bugs is because they think there is a bad taste? >
  
  But that's my point. It's a cultural construct, and culture changes all the time. >
  
  But what makes you think that "bad taste" is the cause of the aversion? I think herring tastes bad but I'm not massively put off by the idea the way people are with bugs. There's more to it than taste. >
  
  Please read my post again. I specifically said it ISN'T because of taste. >
  
  I mean, I have no doubt if I was literally starving, I’d eat a bug, a dog, a cat, I’d go full on Donner Party. 
  But there is no point, in a non imminent life or death scenario that I will choose to eat a bug. I don’t care what it tastes like. You can put enough hot sauce on anything to make it taste like hot sauce. That’s not the point. >
  
  
  But we like the way lobster tastes, naturally. And bugs are filled with gross goo enclosed in a gross chitin enclosure.
  
  That's a pretty huge generalization. I ate fried larva and personally it tasted great, not like an acquired taste or anything. 
  
  If the argument is about sustainability and highly processed meat-alternative products that can be made to taste good - why would those ever be insect instead of plant-based?
  
  Never mentioned it >
  
  
  Why would they need to? Absent that need, they never will on any significant level beyond survival or the type of tourism nonsense you engaged in.
  
  Lol. Besides the casual racism calling fried larvae "tourism nonsense" (as if the thought of a culture sincerely eating bugs is impossible), none of what you're asking is relevant. I never brought up why people would have to eat bugs, only that people can. >
  
  I'm not American, or white. I did not eat bugs as a tourist. >
  
  I ate it in China while staying in my parent's region where I don't usually live. Food is diverse in China. >
  
  Enjoy eating your chocolate covered roaches 🦟 >
  
  Okay - I basically agree with what you're saying, but keep in mind that a large proportion of the meat eaten by Westerners is removed from the carcas, probably for a reason.  I would guess that, rightly or wrongly, Westerner demand for meat products is correlated in some way to the degree to which the meat product can be consumed without psychologically associating the meat with the internal organs, blood guts etc. of the animal.  I.e. Western eaters are squeamish and used to having things like lean chicken breast meat rather than dark meat, even though the latter is considered to be more flavorful by most culinarily serious people.
  While Westerners definitely eat Lobster, typically only the meat, and many would probably prefer a good Lobster hand roll, rather than digging out a shell.
  With bugs, in my experience, you're usually not eating chunks of meat, but rather whole creatures.  Though your view is mostly correct, Western eating habits + the unique physics of bugs, may prevent bugs from reaching the stature of other meats with equivalent flavor, cost and nutritional value. >
  
  This is my thing. I’m a big texture person and eating legs on anything is not the vibe. I don’t think I’d care about cricket flour though. The reality is at least Americans absolutely eat insects all the time, they just don’t know it. Fda allows for certain amounts of insects into all of our food before it’s considered a problem, but bc I can’t point to it or feel the texture, it’s fine by me. I’d offer that’s the real adjustment. >
  
  I think you misunderstood my texture comment. I’m texture sensitive. That wiki page says it’s like cottage cheese. I will not eat cottage cheese for the texture. That ain’t gonna happen with larva then either. I’m sure you could probably sell people who will eat a cottage cheese texture on it though >
  
  I ate bugs in asia and they tasted like French fries. I believe they were grasshoppers. >
  
  I don’t remember much of it but I think they talk about this on a freakonomics podcast episode about disgust and insects - “448. The Downside of Disgust” >
  
  Do you know if they can already taste good? Maybe so. Then there's no clear evidence taste would be the main factor in adoption. I bet if it does get adopted, it would be through other reasons, such as health, agricultural constraints of the future, etc. Stigma would be combatted for the sake of economic, environmental or ethical causes in the west. Taste is only the last step of acceptance. If there were no other constraints, and people liked their foods already, maybe it'll never be adopted. >
  
  No, taste is the first step. Once people find out that it tastes good, the cultural shift starts to happen (just like it did with lobster). If it doesn't taste good then people will resist eating bugs regardless of environmental impact, until they are forced to >
  
  They won't as long as their detractors attach political agendas to them >
  
  I won't try to dissuade you from your value judgement, all I'd offer is the likelihood that insect-based nutrition stems from a place of sustainability (need) rather than hedonic appeal.  Basically, we'll eat bugs because we have to, not because they're made to taste good. >
  
  I suspect this will be the case for countries like the US, although there are plenty of countries which already consume insects regularly and even as a luxury item (escargot in France) >
  
  I've eaten roasted crickets, they're alright but it won't be something I seek out >
  
  Westerners already eat, and have been eating ground up bugs for decades. Ever heard of a cochineal? >
  
  I’ve eaten dried bugs before as a child (we got a bunch for Christmas one year and would always bring them out whenever my friends were over, dating them to eat them and showing off). There were some sort of small worms, crickets, and something else I can’t remember, and they were baked to crispy and seasoned like chips (salt and vinegar, barbecue, etc). The thing is, other than as some sort of gag gift, they’re pretty pointless, chips are way more enjoyable and satisfying. >
  
  Do you want cordyceps? Because that's how you get cordyceps. >
  
  Nah. Plenty of cultures have tasty uses for bugs. It's about culture, not flavor. >
  
  Funny thing is... I always wanted to go traveling and try the bugs people were eating. Also full of protein >
  
  I disagree it is a stigma, which would cast the whole insect-eating thing as a  negative and unfairly held belief. For me personally it's more about a squeamishness, as my exposure (like many others from western cultures, I assume) to the notion of edible insects has to date been through the media and its often presented as a line of bugs on a skewer or dried out critters in a tray. I find nothing appetising about that, in the same way I find nothing appealing about seeing a whole animal or fish prepared and presented in a similar way. We're too used to having our food prepared and presented in a manner that doesn't remind us (too much) that it was once alive. That's a far cry from a stigma. 
  I think we could overcome that squeamishness through introducing insect protein through product alternatives. For example, produce an insect-based version of tofu or textured strips for example, and I'll gladly make a stir fry or a chilli to try it out. 
  My greater worry is that with insect populations also in decline, that we end up causing another ecological disaster by jumping in with both feet and accelerating the extinction of yet more species. I would be more comfortable if industry could show how insect as a food source is sustainable and demonstrably better for our planet and will cause no more harm than the current movement towards  plant-based alternatives. >
  
  Can’t I just eat the animals that eat the bugs? >
  
  You can do that with pretty much everything, maybe force peolle to eat shit? But is this really the way we want to go ? >
  
  Eat em if you want. I think they're an inferior protein source to meat. They don't taste as good or have as good of a nutrient profile IMO >
  
  Regular people will be morally compelled to eat bugs whilst the rich will still be eating red meat and poultry regularly >
  
  You can have all the bugs you want I’m not eating them >
  
  Nope, fuck this on several levels.  I would move to Venus if eating bugs became a normal part of society.  You have severely failed to consider people with entomophobia & arachnophobia in your CMV. >
  
  As others have mentioned texture would probably also be important for marketability and widespread adoption. In addition to that more evidence is coming out that highly processed foods aren't good for us. So being able to do all that without too much processing might also be necessary for health reasons. >
  
  But why?
  Like, if meat was no longer an option I think I would just become a vegetarian. There doesn't seem to be a need or desire to substitute meat with bugs. No one on either side of the issue has been able to explain this to me. For those that are pro-bug...what benefit does it provide over being vegetarian? For those that are anti-bug...who is forcing you to eat them when you could just be a vegetarian instead?
  Even with crustaceans, I think there is a smaller subset of people that are comfortable dealing with the full animal... most people prefer just the tails. Same with crab...some people like the whole crab but most just want the legs. Crawfish are popular with many people but they aren't exactly mainstream all over the country. Bugs are quite a bit different because you are talking about eating the whole animal... something most westerners simply aren't used to. >
  
  I eat chicken livers.  I expect I could eat bugs if hungry enough.  Bug powder for sure >
  
  Not me fuck that I'll just eat beans they're good cheap protein with zero bugs like I already eat beans so why would I switch to something gross >
  
  I agree with you OP, and I would add that I’ve seen some company’s try this. There is a protein bar that uses cricket flour for its base, called exoprotein. Haven’t tried them yet, but they look good. I’ve also wanted to try cricket flour for a while, but it’s a bit expensive compared to other protein powders. Crickets are more efficient at converting carbs to protein then mammals so it does make sense to start utilizing them in our growing world. I believe they are also a good source of heme iron. >
  
  i agree, humans and our ancestors relied on foraging for insects for a long time and any culture that lives in a rough place utilizes this protein rich common resource. >
  
  You note that cultural taboos prevent us eating bugs, yet then decide that taste is the obstacle. This doesn't make sense.
  Do bugs already taste bad? As someone who has eaten ants, crickets, and grasshoppers, I don't think so. They already taste good. 
  Your assumption that they don't taste good reveals the taboo which influences this. Good tasting bugs won't solve the real issue. >
  
  I read somewhere that some Ketchup is red because it is Ladybug wings used for coloring. >
  
  Not long ago LGBTQ was considered a mental health issue and now it's everywhere, of course with time eating bugs with be legitimized also >
  
  You claim people don't eat bugs because of the taste... 
  Do you really believe that it is because of the taste? Is this entire CMV based on that incorrect assumption?