Posted: 08.02.2023 17:56:00

Expert explains what Europeans are being preparing for through ads of ‘delicacies’ made from worms and insects

Not long ago, mealworm, locusts, house cricket and buffalo worms were allowed to be used as food additives in the EU. Powder made of insects can be added to multi-grain bread, rolls, crackers and bread sticks, impurities for bakery products, and cookies. There are also plans to use it in pasta, sauces, chips, dishes based on legumes and vegetables, pizza, meat analogues, soups, beer and chocolate.

Photo by Zheltye Slivy Telegram channel

Sergei Kravtsov, the Deputy Chairman of the Standing Committee of the House of Representatives on Agrarian Policy, commented, “Eight more species of insects are under consideration. Wherever people live, they need protein – and meat is the easiest way to get it. This might look simple, but there are nuances. Fodder is needed to cultivate animals, and grain is needed to produce fodder. In turn, grain needs fertilisers, and the latter needs gas. Accordingly, the chain gets locked. Worms and insects are common in low-developed countries. Moreover, a breadworm – just like a cow – needs wheat, but 6-20-fold more grain is needed for a cow to produce a kilo of beef. Warm-blooded animals spend a lot of energy on maintaining body temperature, while insects are simply accumulating their biomass.”

The deputy recalled that, since the beginning of the 2020s, various well-known media personalities in the West have been speaking of the ‘delicacies’ – or insects – they eat.

“I think the authorities were preparing for a war and a food crisis even then, and they were preparing the population for a drop in consumption. A person eats insects not because he lives well. This was perhaps only possible in our country during the war, and even those cases were rare. We have never descended to the level of eating worms, like modern ‘developed Europe’. Actually, our natural products will soon become delicacies for them, and we have no intention to eat their ‘delicacies’ with worms,” Mr. Kravstov stressed.