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Yeah, Baby, Yeah! Britains are Eating More Insects
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by Hopenow | December 9, 2008 at 03:25 am
500 views | 9 Recommendations | 9 comments
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Sales of insects, arthropods and worms for food in the United Kingdom are shooting up say vendors. Scorpions, tarantulas and ants are seeing an increase in sales as much as 30 percent. Some are saying it is because of the increasing interest in eating insects after watching the reality television show I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!, a very popular programme that has just ended. It drew 10 million viewers.
The celebrities on the TV show dined on scorpions, locusts, crickets and other insects.
Selfridges, a very posh and very large department store on London's Oxford Street, is now selling baked Cambodian tarantula for £15.99. The Edible food company imports the tarantulas from Cambodia and say the insect helped keep people alive during the famines of the Khmer Rouge years.
"When insects are cooked their poison becomes non-toxic," said Edible's Todd Dalton. "We even do chocolate-covered scorpions."
LazyBone UK, an online store, has seen its sales of edible insects jump 30 percent: "Chocolate ants are our biggest sellers," said LazyBone's Chris Spratley.
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (9)
at 06:57 on December 9th, 2008
30% from what though?
Insects are being eaten in many countries and far better for once health and the environment then Beef, Pork or Chicken. In Some western Countries Insects are making a come back, yes a come back since even our ancestors used to eat them. However they eat ants, Grass hoppers and worms.
It is the best and most logical way to go. Yet the tarantula does not really make any sense nor those the scorpion, at least not in GB.
at 04:47 on December 10th, 2008
"Could I have some smashed bug with that ant soup, sir?" said the London matron.
"Sure, and try the spider crackers, and creamy worm dip. You will love it! Nothing is better than that before tarantula pizza. Attractive pizza, too - baby tarantulas all across the top.
at 04:55 on December 10th, 2008
I think I will stick to water insects. Prawns and shrimps, yum
at 06:21 on December 10th, 2008
Those are Crustacean not insects and Scorpion are not insects either.
at 07:29 on December 10th, 2008
It is commonly understood that arachnids have four pairs of legs, and that arachnids may be easily distinguished from insects by this fact (insects have six legs or three pairs).
at 05:37 on December 11th, 2008
Mopani worms and grass hoppers are cool with me, but scorpions? Even that layer of chocolate doesn't really do it for me. But hey, that doesn't say anything. When I lived in Rwanda (in the 80s) , the locals would shiver by the thought of prawns as the country is landlocked. They could no understand why we would eat such ugly, horribly things. And to some degree they are right - prawns do look very ugly. But they taste yuummmm!
at 05:54 on December 11th, 2008
....prawns do look very ugly. But they taste yuummmm!....
***Making GULP..!! and SLURP..! and other indecent sound bits***
I dont want to get going..they are the tastiest food in the world.
Agent.
at 08:10 on December 11th, 2008
I have eaten a few insects but would not make them a regular part of my diet.
at 01:54 on December 13th, 2008
can't imagine someone gorging insects. i wonder what they might be... crispy, tangy, slimy. but interesting though that many friends at NP have tasted these creatures. i remember discovery channel showing Chinese children opening up cockroaches as though they were opening a chocolate wrapper and then savoring them delightfully.