While bugs make most people grimace, David Gracer – a world recognized entomophagist – considers them an essential component to his daily diet. He outlined just how he believes bugs should play a larger role in human diets on Tuesday afternoon in the Guthart Cultural Center Theater. “Crickets aren’t better than beef in every nutritional category, but are better than beef in most,” Gracer said.
As a world-renowned entomophagist, Gracer has made appearances on “The Colbert Report,” a Tedx conference and the show “Migrations,” where appeared as the edible bugs expert.
Gracer explained the general resistance to eating bugs despite the research and data that backs up their nutritional value.
“The acceptance of entomophagy in the 21st century is equivalent to the acceptance of natural selection and evolution in the nineteenth Century,” Gracer said.
Believe it or not, humans eat certain types of bugs, without much thought. “There is a double standard among eating bugs,” Gracer said. “Why are marine arthropods like lobsters and crabs fine to eat, and their cousins such as grasshoppers or stink bugs not?”
Gracer, who has been consuming bugs since 2001, follows a strict sustainable diet that does not include fast food.
“He eats all these bugs, but has never touched a McDonald’s or Burger King hamburger, that to me is shocking,” said Bradley Clarke, a sophomore radio television video and film major.
Gracer, also talked about how the diets we currently consume, are not sustainable if the world’s population continues to grow. “Meats such as beef and chicken are limited resources, but bugs are an eternal food source,” Gracer said.
Gracer also pointed out that some entrepreneurs are getting into the insect consumption industry.
Following the end of his lecture, Gracer offered some sample crickets for the audience to try.
Tammy Karikal, a sophomore chemistry major who ate one of the samples said, “It tastes like a burnt piece of toast.”
Gracer, who has eaten over five thousand types of bugs in the last 15 years said, “As long as they are not poisonous, there is not a bug I won’t eat.”