Bugs for Breakfast?

Bugs can be tasty. So why is it that we don't we eat more of them? There are plenty of reasons to do so: insects are easy to raise and consume fewer resources than cows, sheep or pigs. They don’t need pastures, they multiply quickly and they don't produce greenhouse gasses.

Water bugs, scorpions, cockroaches - on a stick or fried to accompany beer: these are delicacies in Asia, and healthy ones at that. Insects, especially larvae, are an energy and protein bomb. One hundred grams of termites, for example, have 610 calories - more than chocolate! Add to that 38 grams of protein and 46 grams of fat.

Insects are full of unsaturated fatty acids, iron, vitamins and minerals says the UN’S Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The organization wants to increase the popularity of insect recipes around the world.

In many countries around the world, insects have long been a popular treat, especially in parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America. Mopane caterpillars, like the ones shown here, are a delicacy in southern Africa. They're typically boiled, roasted or grilled.

Even international fine cuisine features insects. And in Mexican restaurants, worms with guacamole are a popular snack. Meanwhile, new restaurants in Germany are starting to pop up that offer grasshoppers, meal worms and caterpillars to foodies with a taste for adventure.

In Europe and America, beetles, grubs, locusts and other creepy crawlers are usually met with a ‘yuck!’ The thought of eating deep-fried tarantulas, a popular treat in Cambodia, is met with great disgust. But is there a good reason for that response?

Fine food specialists Terre Exotique (Exotic Earth) offer a grilled grasshopper snack. The French company currently sells the crunchy critters online via special order. A 30-gram jar goes for $11.50 (9 euros).

There are about 1,000 edible insect varieties in the world. Bees are one of them. They're a sustainable source of nutrition, full of protein and vitamins - and tasty for the most part. The world needs to discover this delicacy, says the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization.

In 2012, researchers used ecological criteria to monitor mealworm production at an insect farm in the Netherlands. The result? For the production of one kilogram of edible protein, worm farms use less energy and much less space than dairy or beef farms.

Even in Germany, insects used to be eaten in abundance. May beetle soup was popular until the mid-1900s. The taste has been described as reminiscent of crab soup. In addition, beetles were sugared or candied, then sold in pastry shops.

French start-up Ynsect is cooking up plans to offer ground up mealworms as a cost-effective feed for animals like fish, chicken and pigs. This could benefit the European market, where 70 percent of animal feed is imported.