| Show j - review Page 7 k Insects These aphids of "ant cows” produce a sweet excretion that is used by ants and thought to be the "manna" mentioned in The Bible "Well said to myself Haws you're an entomologist and if anybody can enjoy insects you can! So I hurried up and ate them as fast as could" Haws noted that they tasted "quite good" too There is a gnat about the size of a mosquito that lives on Lake Victoria in Africa They're life process is very simple and seemingly useless except when one considers that they provide a substantial diet to the natives This midge lays its eggs after breeding on the surface of the lake and the eggs sink to the bottom Then the parents fly away their lot in life completed They fly so high that they are hit by a surge of cold air and die instantly The insects fall to the ground in lifeless swarms so large that they piled two to three feet deep in an area of almost five square miles Then the natives come and gather the dead bugs packing them together by the handfulls They are then used to make cakes In a short time the previously laid eggs will hatch swim to the surface mate lay their own eggs anf fly to their death just as all of their ancestors did and all of their children will I I However even with glorified packaging and marketing ideas some people will undoubtedly just' refuse to eat insects Perhaps even for religious reasons (Hindus won't eat cows Jews won't eat pork and Mormons won't drink coffee) but whatever the personal reason may be irrational prejudices can only be ’ overcome by patience and example Dr Haws agreed that there are certain invertebrate that cannot be eaten obviously And people could actually have an allergy to the Ahuate for instance just as some individuals are violently allergic to the sting of a bee or an ant bite But it is easier to overcome prejudices based on misconception than it is on unfortunate experiences for argument then has a place Haws also said that there is no one working on these things that he knows of He said "Certainly don't see insects as an alterto meat and don't believe that will native potatoes I I happen" People in Siam and Central America have been eating insects for generations Yet Americans seem to attach some sort Of negativism to it sometimes not even tolerating the thought of a "crawly old bug" The rveai question seems to be will Americans sacrifice ‘their meat and potatoes culture in order to survive? If this idea can be sold to the public then there is hope But if we remain as stubborn today in our ways as we have proven to be in the past then it can most definitely be held that the people of Siam Central America and Africa may have been barbaric by Western Man's rationale but certainly much more addaptive to survival in our ever changing world Larvae such as these Bee larvae are considered delicacies by many people |
