Open Economy of Protein

In keeping with my belief of "following the money" I read The Economist for much the same reason I read the WSJ. The article recently posted in The Economist brought to the fore my concern for the economy of protein.

Let them eat bugs

Jul 12th 2008
From Economist.com

. . .

Scientists at the National Autonomous University of Mexico have an answer: entomophagy, or dining on insects. They claim the practice is common in some 113 countries. Better yet, bugs provide more nutrients than beef or fish, gram for gram.

. . .

Coincidentally this dovetails with my long standing belief in the concept put forth by the sci-fi classic Soylent Green (cannibalism aside). As a world community we will have to use innovative means to address the issue of hunger.

Before the days of soaring fuel prices and the subsequent drain on grain reserves the long standing question was why we didn't just feed the hungry? Now that our abundance of food resources are being put into the gas tank even that simple answer has evaporated leaving only a lingering hydrocarbon foot print.

Having visited China (as just one example) and having seen first hand the entomological culinary delights I can make one observation. No matter how delightfully prepared or presented Americans will will not eat grasshoppers on a skewer. So then the next most reasonable course of action would be to 'process' this cost effective protein source into a more palatable dish.

In much the same way that we have accepted faux foods made of processed soy beans we must concentrate on producing acceptable food stuffs made of protein rich insects. Properly processed, spiced and packaged Hopper Patties come to mind. Grilled lightly and covered with a slice of American soy cheese on a toasted bun. Just think of the potential profit margin.

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