A new survey suggests critters like crickets and locusts could replace pork and beef on restaurant menus to help reduce livestock greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by up to 95 percent.
Research carried out for FoodServiceWarehouse.com found that if pig and cattle livestock were measured against insects for their GHG production by grams per kilogram of mass gain, beef cattle produce on average a massive 2,850g of CO2 equivalent and pigs create 1,139g of CO2e.
By comparison, the humble cricket produces a tiny 1.57g of CO2e, whilst locusts and sun beetles equate to just 17.72g CO2e and 121.86g CO2e, respectively. Not only are they more eco-friendly, but many insects are also very nutritious – they have twice the protein of meat and fish, whilst being rich in unsaturated fat.
In many parts of Asia insects such as beetles and crickets are part of everyday cuisine, and it may be time for the rest of the world to start considering sweet and sour crickets and locust-burgers.
The livestock farming contribution of GHG to global warming is huge, with 35-40 percent of the Earth's methane, 65 percent of the Earth's nitrous oxide and 9 percent of the Earth's carbon dioxide being attributed to the industry.
Ashley Howard at FoodServiceWarehouse.com, said: “The farming of insects would be a more sustainable and affordable form of meat production. It may sound crazy, but with the huge impact that livestock is having on GHG – in much the same way as the burning of fossil fuels – we need to come up with other viable options. By presenting this data we hope we've at least raised some awareness to the effect that livestock production has on our environment.”
Ashley continues: “Are we going to drop everything and start selling cricket fryers and beetle grillers? Not likely. However, we do provide as much eco-friendly restaurant equipment we can, and when you consider that the worldwide consumption of pork and beef is expected to double by 2020, it might not be such a crazy statement.”
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