Entomophagy: People Eating Insects - Anyone Care for Some Formaggio Marcio?

Whenever I travel to a foreign country, I like to try the local foods. Fortunately, I have yet to stay among practitioners of entomophagy, the eating of insects. Although I have to confess, that in grade school, maybe fourth or fifth grade, our teacher brought in some exotic foods as part of our cultural studies class and I did try chocolate covered grasshoppers. However, entomophagy is generally done without the addition of chocolate. Some bugs are fried with batter, but most insect eaters, eat their bugs either raw, or cooked very plainly. In the United States, the most common place to see entomophagy actively practiced is on a game show such as Fear factor or Survivor, but in many places throughout the world eating insects is an important source of nutrition.

Entomophagy in Prehistory
Entomophagy is thought to date back to prehistoric times among humans, perhaps even before we learned to use tools. Indeed, we have only to look at the chimpanzee as an example of primate insect eaters. Ants and other insects are a main part of their diet. Adult Chimpanzees will even teach their children how to catch ants by inserting a slender stick or a blade of grass into the anthill and then withdrawing it covered with attacking ants.

Italian Entomophagy
Though we don't often think of entomophagy as a tradition of western civilization, it is. The Italian formaggio marcio is a cheese whose aging process has been enhanced by the addition of live maggots. As the maggots grow in the cheese, their digestive juices help break down the cheese giving it a very distinct and powerful flavor. When it's ready, formaggio marcio is often eaten on bread with the maggots still crawling around in it.

Australian Entomophagy
The Australian Aboriginal diet featured cossid moth larvae as one of its main elements. These larvae are rather large white grubs that live as much as two feet deep in the ground. The grubs are known to eat the roots of the wanderrie wattle and they could be located by digging into the soil around these bushes. Cossid grubs are eaten raw or toasted in the hot ashes of a camp fire. Eating these insects provides a good source of protein in the harsh climate of the Australian bush country.

The Bible and Entomophagy
The Old Testament of the Bible has several examples of entomophagy. Eating grasshoppers, locusts and crickets was sanctioned by Leviticus. John the Baptist, we read in the Bible, survived by eating locusts and honey.

African Entomophagy
Even today in parts of Africa, as swarms of locusts attack the crops, children will rush to collect them and sell them to merchants in the food markets. Locusts are then taken home and fried for a crispy treat. The locusts can be fairly expensive. Entomophagy in Africa is not simply a source of subsistence food, but often a luxurious treat.

Trendy Insect Eating in California
The practice of insect eating is alive and well even today. Entomophagy is practiced in parts of every continent except Antarctica. There's insect eating in North America? Absolutely. In fact, a plate of Chicken Stuffed Waterbugs, Chambi Ants, or Taiwanese Crickets will run you $10.00 during the dinner hours at Typhoon, a trendy restaurant on the South Side of the Santa Monica Airport in California. I'll warn you now, though, that the Thai-Style White Sea Worms are spicy enough to warrant two stars on the menu.