Does eating meat affect the environment? According to scientists and environmentalists, it has a significant impact. Raising cattle, pigs, and birds produces a high carbon footprint, contributing to global warming and affecting the Earth's atmosphere. Out of concern for the planet, many people are switching to vegetarian or vegan diets but often worry about getting enough protein. British restaurateurs have an innovative idea for addressing this issue.

The Yum Bug concept is more than a restaurant. The company's owners are also insect producers transforming crickets into a meat substitute. Aaron Thomas, a co-founder of Yum Bug, explains in an interview with The Guardian: "The most akin meat actually ends up being something like beef or lamb, just simply because of the taste. But also the look. It’s quite brown."

The owners of Yum Bug started their business during the Covid-19 pandemic. The men sold insect recipe kits online but ran into the obstacle of public resistance to eating whole insects. "Once we realised that, we tested some of these meat alternatives on our market stall in Brick Lane, then started to get way more traction," Leo Taylor explains."

Leo Taylor and Aaron Thomas opted for crickets rather than mealworms for several reasons: "One is obviously that we turn our insects into a range of meats and what matters in terms of that meat is: what does it taste like? What is the sustainability of that insect? What is the nutrition of that insect? What is the general customer acceptance of that type of insect? And crickets are a really good species for quite a lot of those things. It’s one of the most nutritious – around 70% protein when dried – one of the most sustainable and easy to find, one of the most generally accepted by consumers around the world," says Taylor.

Leo Taylor explains that Yum Bug's target customers are not vegetarians and vegans. "We’re targeting people who are currently consuming meat and giving them a way better option that still feels like meat and has full animal protein."

Aaron Thomas adds: "I’m vegan aside from insects. But there are also vegans that are vegan aside from bivalves like mussels and clams. And I would say that a larger portion of vegans are OK with eating insects and bivalves than you’d probably expect."

How are crickets harvested? Initially, the temperature in the room where they are raised is lowered significantly. This leads to a dormant state known as diapause, in which insects do not feel the pain associated with freezing.

"There’s a cost to the food we eat," says Taylor. "There’s a cost to the avocado that you’re spreading on your toast, a cost to the almonds in your milk. We’re just saying that we feel this is an acceptable point in the spectrum of all the things you could possibly eat."

Source: The Guardian