AP Science class cooks with bugs as sustainability experiment

Sophomore Aly Pagano holds mealworms, a key ingredient in mealworm fried rice. Photo by Catherine Lemel

By Catherine Lemel

Mealworm fried rice, honey cricket crunch – sounds like a Halloween-themed party, right? Wrong. This is what Jay Case’s AP Earth and Environmental Science class whipped up, not as a science experiment, but to eat, as a study on sustainable living and eating.

There was an assortment of recipes that the students made out of either crickets or mealworms. Sophomore Anna Moser’s group made pasta alfredo with crickets with her group. “It was really fun,” she said.

Many students agreed that it was a mind over matter situation. Jody Bettencourt said, “It was a very mixed experience. There were times that the situation got really gross, but after I stopped thinking about it, it was a good experience.”

Social studies teacher John McDaris sampled some of the food that the students made. He said, “It was my first time eating insects and it was really quite pleasant. The dishes were very filling and they had nice earthy overtones.” McDaris also said that he believes in eating insects as a part of a high protein diet. “I would eat bugs everyday,” he said.

Case said that the goal of this experiment was to try and change people’s perspectives about eating bugs. He said, “In America, we have been raised to associate bugs with being nasty and we can’t do that anymore because the way we eat now is unsustainable. Insects are a great protein source and are more sustainable to eat than a hamburger.”

In many countries, insects are considered a great source of protein. From across the world to Thailand to right next door in Mexico, insects are coated in as many flavors as potato chips are in America. So why can’t Americans eat bugs?

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