Article:
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.
Questions:
What do you think of this article?
Have you ever eaten an insect? If so, how did it taste?
Do you think that insects will be a part of everyone's diet in the future?
Have you made any changes to your diet for environmental reasons?
Would you say that you're adventurous when it comes to trying new food? Why do you think so?
If you have to eat insects, how do you want to eat or cook them?
What's the most unusual food you have ever eaten?
What foods from your country do you imagine foreigners find unusual?
Is it common for people to eat insects in your country?
Have you ever had food poisoning? If so, do you know what caused it?