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Entomophagy, invasivors, and foragers oh my!

February 17, 2011 by Suzy Badaracco — President, Culinary Tides Inc

When consumers exhibit courage - I am inspired.

When corporations stretch their technological boundaries – I rejoice.

When a single voice is heard above the din of the background, I close my eyes, exhale, and relax into a moment of glee.

We are on the precipice of cool.

Right now, the media is being quietly peppered with stories of entomophagy (insect eating), invasivor consumption (eating invasive, destructive species), and foragers (the new local – instead of 150 miles, think 150 meters). And make no mistake; these stories could easily be dismissed – cast to the shadows. But it would be in error.

Will these three weather the storm for years? Probably not, but that does not mean they won’t be impactful … which is more than most trends can say. Consider their births.

Foragers I have commented on before and it stands that foragers are brave souls. Not only are they taking the time to educate themselves and seek wild foods, they are risking death itself to consume their findings. But perhaps death is a way to thin the heard.

Let’s focus on the remaining two.

Entomophagy showed up in the media and has gotten far more attention. Insect eating is entirely common around the world but not so in the United States. But how could we have missed this boat. I mean, have you seen some of the bugs in the Deep South and Alaska? Bugs who have managed to adapt to these extreme temperatures could easily feed a family of four.

Why the fuss? Because it is taboo in this country. Just like talking about digestion 5 years ago was taboo or speaking of depression now is taboo. Insects are gross - something small children bring home in jars or, in the case of my son at 4 years old, in his sock, snuggled against his ankle for the journey home from preschool. But the fact is that insects are packed with protein and fiber - if you count the exoskeleton, low in fat, no added sugar, natural, no caffeine, trans fat free, organic even. I think wings should count too. I would really like to see a study on that actually … “Wing consumption impact on overall fiber consumption in preschoolers in the United States, a meta analysis.” Its coming I am sure. For now though it is only for the brave.

Invasivors are another issue entirely. Whereas most consumers just have an ick factor when it comes to bugs, invasivors potentially come with soft fur, cute ears, or an adorable face. Unlike insects, who are probably going about their normal day when they were snatched up for someone’s lunch, invasivors were not invited and are destructive to other species or habitat they have encroached upon. Another difference is that they can be animal or plant. They include Lionfish, Asian Carp – also called Kentucky Tuna, feral pigs, pigeons, starlings, crawfish, field mustard, and Japanese Knotweed. The practice exists to maintain ecosystem health.

It is no coincidence the three trends materialized almost simultaneously although each comes from a different parent. Foraging is a morph off the “local” trend, invasivor consumption is tied to sustainability, and entomophagy is tied to sustainability and health. Entomophagy inspiration comes from the desire to cut down on consumption of other protein sources such as beef, which thereby conserves grazing land. Invasivor consumption however is motivated by the desire to preserves native plants or animal species. So while both are tied to sustainability, their birth structures are quite different and therefore their lifecycles will follow separate paths. To carry it one step further, all three trends will spawn separate support structures and attract different “groupies.”

In the end, their existence signals a resurgence in consumer confidence, courage, experimentation, risk taking, exploration, whimsy, vision, and imagination. These consumer behaviors are exactly what should be encouraged to pull them out of the economic doldrums. So, if consumers are starting to smile and have a bit of fun again, I suggest we follow suit. Self fulfilling prophecies are not always a bad thing.

About Suzy Badaracco

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