Health and Food 2023 Ep.

21

Insect Consumption: A Sustainable Solution to the Global Food Crisis?

The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) promotes

insects as a sustainable solution to the global food crisis due to their protein
content and low environmental impact. Yet, many still view insects as enemies
instead of food, making it difficult to overcome this psychological barrier.

Despite this, some schools are introducing them into their lunch menus. One
school in Tokushima recently added ground cricket powder to its pumpkin cola
cakes to provide students with a nutritious meal. To make the insect more
acceptable, it was ground into powder and added to the dish. Students were
curious about the taste and reported that they couldn’t even tell it was made with
cricket powder. The school emphasized that it was up to the students to decide
to eat it or not.

The school’s decision to use cricket powder in its lunch program was part of
its ongoing effort to research the potential of “circular food” – using food waste
as the primary ingredient for new dishes. Insects, particularly crickets, are a
protein-rich source of food with low environmental impact, and using them in
this way helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, not everyone
supports this approach. Another high school in Tokushima received numerous
complaints from parents after including insects in their menu.

It seems that the traditional notions of what constitutes food pose a

significant barrier to the consumption of insects.

 Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 聯合國糧食及農業組織，簡稱糧農組織，

是一個聯合國專門機構，帶頭開展戰勝飢
餓的國際努力。
Tokushima 德島市，是日本四國地方德島縣東北部的一個城市。
greenhouse gas emissions 溫室氣體排放

Vocabulary
consumption 食用；消費 sustainable 可持續的 crisis 危機 protein 蛋白質
overcome 克服 psychological 心理的 barrier 障礙 cricket 蟋蟀
nutritious 營養豐富的 acceptable 可以接受的 powder 粉；粉末 emphasize 強調
outgoing 持續進行的 ingredient （食物的）成分
 昆蟲消費：全球食品危機的可持續解決方案？

聯合國糧食及農業組織（FAO）推廣昆蟲作為可持續解決全球食品危機的方法，
因為昆蟲富含蛋白質且對環境的影響較小。然而，許多人仍然把昆蟲視為敵人而非食
物，這使得克服這種心理障礙變得困難。

儘管如此，一些學校正在將它們添加到午餐菜單中。德島的一所學校最近在南瓜
可樂蛋糕中添加了蟋蟀粉，以提供學生營養豐富的飲食。為了使昆蟲更容易被接受，
它被磨成粉末添加到菜餚中。學生對味道很好奇，並報告說他們甚至分辨不出它是用
蟋蟀粉製成的。學校強調，是否食用取決於學生自己決定。

學校決定在午餐計劃中使用蟋蟀粉，是其持續努力研究「循環食品」的潛力的一
部分──以食物廢料作為新菜餚的主要成分。昆蟲，特別是蟋蟀，是一種富含蛋白質
且對環境影響小的食物來源，以此方式使用它們有助於減少溫室氣體排放。

然而，並非每個人都支持這種方法。德島的另一所高中在菜單中加入昆蟲後，就
收到了家長的眾多投訴。

看來，傳統觀念認為什麼是食物對於消費昆蟲構成了一個重大障礙。

Time to Think
1. ( ) Why is the United Nations’ FAO promoting insect consumption?
(A) Because insects taste good
(B) Because insects are enemies
(C) Because insects are a sustainable option
(D) Because insects are easier to farm than livestock  livestock 牲畜

2. ( ) What did the school in Tokushima add to its pumpkin cola cakes?
(A) Ground beef
(B) Ground pork
(C) Ground chicken
(D) Ground cricket powder

3. ( ) Why did the school decide to use cricket powder in its lunch program?
(A) To make a new dish for the students
(B) To reduce greenhouse gas emissions
(C) To research the potential of circular food
(D) To challenge the students to try something new
檔案下載
「昆蟲食代」即將來臨？

日本營養午餐蟋蟀粉入菜，為何引爆網路反彈
Ans: 1. C 2. D 3. C 聲浪？