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Bugs. You might even call them creepy crawlies. On one hand we freak out when we see a cock roach scurry across the floor. On the other hand, we might be fascinated with them, particularly when we’re protected from them, when they are behind glass. We’ve invented bug spray and pesticides to keep them wholly separate from what we consider to be OUR environment. This is entirely a first world experience. The bulk of humanity has a different relationship with insects, and has even welcomed them into their diet – on purpose.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations released a 200 page report in 2013 called, “Edible insects: future prospects for food and feed security” where they assess the potential of insects as a food source by reviewing existing information on the role of insects in a traditional diet, as a part of various global cultures, insects as a natural resource, environmental opportunities for adding insects to our diets, insect nutrition, insect farming, insects as animal feed, insect processing & food safety, insect farming as a livelihood, for economic development, as it pertains to legislation and communication. It’s a report worth knowing about.
With this in mind, my guest today is doing his part to reintroduce us to the delectable bug. David George Gordon – otherwise known as the bug chef is busy making insects a staple in kitchens across the country, out to convince us that we should view insects as a food source, and not a pest. David recently cooked an insect feast for the “Explorer’s Club” – hosted at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
David and I chat about how in the Unites States, we’re in the minority because we don’t eat insects on purpose, we learn about the sensory experience of eating insects – from sight, to taste, to texture, to smell – how to cook insects, sourcing them, whether or not they are cost prohibitive, and a couple of interesting insect facts as they relate to our current food system.
You can learn more about The Bug Chef and all of his resources at David’s website, http://davidgeorgegordon.com/.
David’s Bio:
David George Gordon is the award-wining author of The Eat-a-Bug Cookbook. As The Bug Chef, he’s been featured in The Wall Street Journal and USA Today, Time magazine and National Geographic online and has appeared on Conan O’Brien, ABC Nightline, The Late Late Show With James Corden, The Wil Wheaton Project and The View.
He’s shared his exotic cuisine with visitors to the Smithsonian Institution, San Francisco Botanical Garden, Yale University, The Explorers Club Annual Dinner and Ripley’s Believe It or Not! museums in San Francisco, Hollywood and Times Square.
“Oh, Jiminy Cricket, you’ve never looked more scrumptious,” proclaimed National Public Radio’s food blog, The Salt.
Chef Gordon and his illustrator/wife Karen Luke Fildes live in Seattle.
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