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Eat Insects, Save the World
Do you like to eat insects? Anne Muir and Liz Waid look at this important food source. Eating
insects may even save the world! Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Anne Muir. Voice 2
And I’m Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for
people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Click here to follow along with this program on YouTube. Voice 1
A woman in the United States is making a meal. She chooses a recipe from a recipe book. She
will follow this recipe, adding each different food at the right time to make a good-tasting meal.
The recipe begins with common foods. First, she adds some juice from a sour lemon. Then she
puts in some olive oil and a small amount of sweet honey. She adds some salt and pepper spice.
Finally, she is ready to add the protein, or meat, into the meal. Does the recipe use chicken? Fish?
Pork? No, the final ingredient in this recipe is katydids – a kind of insect!
- Katykid (n) /ˈkeɪtidɪd/ : a large green North American insect, the male of which makes a
noise that sounds like ‘katydid’ when it rubs its wings together. Voice 2
For many people in the United States insects would be a very surprising ingredient. There, eating
insects is not common. But this recipe book is trying to change the way people in the United
States and other western countries think about eating insects. This book contains recipes for
people to make food from insects. It is called the “Eat-A-Bug Cookbook.” Voice 1
The writer of this book is David George Gordon. In his book, he tells about the reasons that
people should eat more insects. Eating insects is good for the environment, public health, and
also the economy. Today’s Spotlight is on eating insects. Voice 2
Experts estimate that by 2050 there will be 9 billion people in the world. Almost a billion people
already suffer from hunger every day. Our earth has a limited amount of resources like land and
water. If we do not have enough food for the people on our earth now, how will we have enough
for another 2 billion people in 2050? lOMoAR cPSD| 48599919
- Estimate (v) /ˈestɪmeɪt/ : to guess or calculate the cost, size, value, etc. of something Voice 1
These are the questions that experts around the world are struggling with. The Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations released a report in 2013. It explained:
- Struggle (v) /ˈstrʌɡl/ : to try very hard to do something when it is difficult or when there are a lot of problems Voice 3
“The problem will be worse in the future. We need to think about what we eat and how we
produce it. We need to find new ways of growing food.” Voice 2
The report suggested that raising and eating insects was one way people could solve this
problem. There are over 1,900 different kinds of insects that people can eat. The most common are beetles and caterpillars.
- Beetle /ˈbiːtl/ (n) : an insect, often large and black, with a hard case on its back, covering
its wings. There are several types of beetle.
- Caterpillar (n) /ˈkætərpɪlər/ : a small, long animal with many legs that feeds on the leaves
of plants, and develops into a butterfly or moth Voice 1
Many people around the world already eat insects. In fact, insects are part of the traditional diet
of over 2 billion people. For example, in China, some people cook insects over a fire. They put
the insects on a stick. The cooked insects are served on the street as street food. They are also
served in restaurants, where food costs a lot of money. In the country of Ghana, people collect
the termite insect in the spring time. They grind the termites into a kind of powder similar to
grain. They use the ground termites to make bread.
- Termite /ˈtɜːrmaɪt/ (n) : an insect that lives in organized groups, mainly in hot countries.
Termites do a lot of damage by eating the wood of trees and buildings.
- Grind (v) /ɡraɪnd/ : to break or press something into very small pieces between two hard
surfaces or using a special machine
- Grain (n) /ɡreɪn/ : the small hard seeds of food plants such as wheat, rice, etc.; a single seed of such a plant Voice 2
Insects are a part of traditional diets because they are a very healthy food. They contain almost as
much protein as a serving of meat from a pig or cow. Protein is a substance all people need to eat lOMoAR cPSD| 48599919
to stay healthy. Insects are high in vitamins and minerals. And insects are also low in fat and
cholesterol – substances that are necessary for the body, but only in small amounts.
- Substance /ˈsʌbstəns/ (n) : a type of solid, liquid or gas that has particular qualities -
Mineral /ˈmɪnərəl/ (n) : a chemical that your body needs to stay healthy Voice 1
Eating insects is also very good for the environment. Insects need fewer resources like land and
water than larger animals. 90% of the fresh water people use goes to farming and raising animals. Voice 2
Marcel Dicke studies insects. In a TED talk, he explained how insects also produce more meat
from the food they eat. For example, imagine a farmer. Imagine the farmer feeds a cow 10
pounds of food. Those 10 pounds of food produce about 1 pound of cow meat for people to eat.
However, imagine the farmer gives cricket insects 10 pounds of food. Those 10 pounds of food
produce 9 pounds of cricket meat for people to eat!
- Cricket (n) /ˈkrɪkɪt/ : a brown or black insect that makes short, loud noises by rubbing its
wings together Voice 1
Eating more insects can also help people in poorer communities. Many people can raise and sell
insects. Raising and selling insects can provide a job and food. Voice 2
But insects will not replace livestock meat very quickly. First, people in some countries would
have to change how they think about eating insects. Many people in North America and Europe
eat a lot of livestock meat like cow and pigs. But they do not traditionally eat insects. They do eat
some products of insects, like sweet honey from bees. But it is not normal to eat a whole insect in
any form. In fact, for many people in the west, eating insects sounds insane! They believe insects
are dirty and dangerous. Insects make people feel uncomfortable.
- Livestock (n) /ˈlaɪvstɑːk/ : animals and birds that are kept on a farm, such as cows, sheep, or chickens
- Insane (adj) /ɪnˈseɪn/ : very stupid, crazy or dangerous Voice 1
Some people are trying to solve this problem. For example, we talked about David George
Gordon’s recipe book at the beginning of this program. His recipe book tries to show people that
eating insects can be delicious and easy. Other insect experts travel and tell people about the
great effects of eating insects. But they still have a lot of work to do. lOMoAR cPSD| 48599919
- Effect (n) /ɪˈfekt/ : a change that somebody/something causes in somebody/something else; a result Voice 2
Another challenge is creating rules and laws for insect producers to follow. There should be rules
about how to raise insects safely to eat as food. People also need to decide how to eat insects.
Will they be whole? Will they be ground into powder like a grain? Or, will food scientists
discover a way to take all of the great food substances from insects and serve them in a very
different form? These are all questions that people will have to ask and answer in the near future.
- Grind something into something (phrasal verb) : to press something hard into something
else using a twisting movement Voice 1
But there are people who want to answer those questions now. José Andrés is a master chef in the
United States. He has won important awards for his cooking. He serves insects in his restaurant.
He believes that finding new forms of food is important for the future. He told the New Yorker Magazine: Voice 4
“We need to feed people in a sustainable way. In the future, the people who know how to
produce protein will have an advantage over everyone else.”
- Sustainable (adj) /səˈsteɪnəbl/ : + able to continue over a period of time
+ involving the use of natural products and energy in a way that does not harm the environment Voice 2
Will insects become the world’s main source of protein in the future? Do you eat insects? If you
do, what insects are your favourite, and how do you prepare them? If you do not eat insects,
would you start? Let us know what you think. Leave your comments on the script page of this
program. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Spotlight Radio. Voice 1
The writer of this program was Liz Waid. The producer was Michio Ozaki. The voices you heard
were from Scotland, the United States and England. All quotes were adapted for this program
and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again, and read it, on the internet at
www.radioenglish.net. This program is called, ‘Eat Insects; Save the World’. Voice 2
We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye.