When researching the difference between insects and beef, it is not difficult to find information about the benefits of eating edible insects. The three main factors used to compare eating insects to eating beef are the protein and nutrients each may or may not contain, the amount of food and water each consumes to produce edibles produce, and the amount of space required to grow one or the other. . Using these three metrics, it's easy to see why insects are considered a safe and healthy alternative to traditional protein sources.
The nutritional difference between insects and beef
Insects and animals (especially livestock) are vital food sources of nutrients we need in our bodies. This includes the eight essential amino acids (tryptophan, methionine, isoleucine, lysine, valine, threonine, leucine and phenylalanine), certain vitamins and minerals. Edible insects have a high protein content comparable to that of cattle and milk. In fact, 100 grams of crickets contain about 21 grams of protein. Beef contains about 26 grams of protein in 100 grams of meat and 26 grams of protein in 100 grams of whole milk powder. What sets edible insects apart is that they also contain a high concentration of fat per 100 grams, making a serving of crickets higher in calories, which can contribute to a healthy diet.
Comparison of production costs of insects versus beef
The amount of land and water required to grow food to feed livestock is far greater than that required to feed crickets. For example, hay meadows produce fodder for livestock and require 8 grams of fodder to gain 1 gram in weight. Insects, like crickets, require less than 2 grams of food to produce 1 gram of weight. Another way to think of this is to imagine a trash can on a cricket farm covered with hundreds of insects about the size of a hay bale. A 75-pound square bale of hay will feed a 1,800-pound cow for a day. This makes insect farming a more environmentally friendly option.
The agricultural difference between insects and beef
Not only do insects require less space for food production, they also take up less space overall. They can also multiply quickly and have a shorter lifespan. The shorter lifespan means a cricket farm can produce more insects faster. An average cricket farm can produce up to 1,500 eggs in three to four weeks. This means that a good cricket keeper can have a weekly rotation of crickets laying eggs, hatching, and maturing in a constant cycle. Beef cattle, on the other hand, take up to four breeders for each cow that enters the market, and breeding cycles are more like once a year. Add to that the fact that insects absorb water directly from their food and produce far fewer greenhouse gases than cattle and it becomes clear that edible insects are much cheaper to produce beef.
One more thing
In the form of recycling, insects like crickets, grasshoppers, flies and beetles have an added benefit. They can eat agricultural waste and plants that neither livestock nor humans can eat. That means humans and insects don't compete for the same food supply. What is interesting, however, is that cattle, poultry and pigs are fed grains and corn, which are also part of the normal human diet. When we look at all of these differences between insects and livestock, it becomes clear that there is something about the movement to use edible insects as a way to solve world hunger.
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