Can eating insects save the world?

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Spiny Norman
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Re: Can eating insects save the world?

Post by Spiny Norman »

I'm quite friendly with the spiders in my house and I wouldn't dream of deep-frying them. So I will stick with quorn fillets, which taste a bit like chicken actually.... :tongue:
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Bhikkhu Pesala
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Re: Can eating insects save the world?

Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

Some people will even eat porpoise, some hunters apparently eat coyote too!
Much of the dolphin meat sold around Japan is actually mislabeled or sold as counterfeit whale meat from larger a whale, which sells for far more money than dolphin meat. Hundreds of samples of dolphin meat tested from around Japan has all been shown to be toxic and far exceeds their own ministry of health recommendations. Some internal organ meat for sale at the Okura markets near Taiji was analyzed to have 5000 times more mercury than the health advisory of 0.4 ppm.

The oceans around industrialized countries such as China, Japan and the United States is some of the most polluted in the world and the dolphins residing in those waters are some of the most toxic in the world. For instance, if fish has more than 2 ppm (parts per million) of PCB’s, the EPA requires that it not be fit for human consumption. Bottlenose dolphins off the East Coast of the United States can have up to 6800 ppm and if one washed up on the shores it would be eligible for clean-up as a super-fund site.
The scale of the trade in bugs from Cambodia surprised me, though I was already aware that the people from NE Thailand ate bugs and frogs. I suppose its no worse than eating shrimps or any other kind of fish or flesh, though it is repugnant to most westerners.

I don't think the economic or carbon footprint arguments hold up very well. It is mainly the poorest of the poor who resort to eating bugs. Investing in better farming methods would make more sense than patrolling the fields at night to pick up bugs one at a time or collecting red ants. The children should be in school during the day, and sleeping at night if they want to improve their standard of living.
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manas
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Re: Can eating insects save the world?

Post by manas »

Mojo wrote:Crickets kind of taste like popcorn. Its been a while but I think I the them in the freezer before cooking them.


If that's the case. and you did not cook them while still alive, then I apologise if I seemed judging of you. But the way you wrote your post did give that impression, do you see what I mean?
Mojo wrote:I'm not particularly concerned about the suffering of something killed in the name of food. I'm mostly concerned with human suffering and I'm not concerned with or believe in rebirth. I still believe Buddhism has a good place in my life.
I would still invite you to put yourself in their place; try to imagine how they might feel, even if you don't believe in rebirth. Yes insects do feel both pleasure and pain. Even insects should be treated with respect whenever possible. They are sentient beings, just as we are. If you don't have any compassion for them, maybe try to generate some. More compassion benefits everyone, and you will feel happier too.

:anjali:
To the Buddha-refuge i go; to the Dhamma-refuge i go; to the Sangha-refuge i go.
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Mojo
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Re: Can eating insects save the world?

Post by Mojo »

manas wrote:I would still invite you to put yourself in their place; try to imagine how they might feel, even if you don't believe in rebirth. Yes insects do feel both pleasure and pain. Even insects should be treated with respect whenever possible. They are sentient beings, just as we are. If you don't have any compassion for them, maybe try to generate some. More compassion benefits everyone, and you will feel happier too.

:anjali:
I've gone vegetarian 4 times in my life, about a year each. I prefer meat in my diet.

Back to the topic, I'm pretty sure that if as a global community, we went insectavorian that much of the insect supply would come from factory farms not the wild, just as is the case with meat.
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manas
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Re: Can eating insects save the world?

Post by manas »

Mojo wrote:
manas wrote:I would still invite you to put yourself in their place; try to imagine how they might feel, even if you don't believe in rebirth. Yes insects do feel both pleasure and pain. Even insects should be treated with respect whenever possible. They are sentient beings, just as we are. If you don't have any compassion for them, maybe try to generate some. More compassion benefits everyone, and you will feel happier too.

:anjali:
I've gone vegetarian 4 times in my life, about a year each. I prefer meat in my diet.

Back to the topic, I'm pretty sure that if as a global community, we went insectavorian that much of the insect supply would come from factory farms not the wild, just as is the case with meat.
Mojo, I never said you need to become a vegetarian! I was simply inviting you to reconsider this attitude:
Mojo wrote:I'm not particularly concerned about the suffering of something killed in the name of food.
But as you said, back to topic. I'm glad to hear you do not do any actual killing yourself, that's good.

So finally: sorry if I gave any impression that I was judging you for your diet. I wasn't. Buddhists are allowed to eat meat, so long as they did not kill or order it to be killed themselves.

Anyway, back to the topic of insects as food for humanity saving the world, then :P

:anjali:
To the Buddha-refuge i go; to the Dhamma-refuge i go; to the Sangha-refuge i go.
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