Eating Bugs In The United States Mainstream Culture

In the United States mainstream culture, people do not eat bugs because bugs are seen as pests. For example, whenever someone in my family sees a spider their first reaction is to immediately kill it. They do not want the spider to bite them, and usually they view spiders as “gross” or “bad.” Furthermore, this is because throughout an early age, we are taught that insects are “bad,” and that they can bite you and hurt you and even carry diseases. It would be an anomaly to consume any insect because if one consume one, they are digesting something that may carry a disease or venom even. Additionally, they would be eating something that people would view as “dirty” because bugs live in the outside environments. Additionally, if bugs are found

For example, peanut butter contains bugs. I remember hearing in the news about 2 or 3 years ago that Starbucks had put a bug extract in one of their drinks. It is not something that is well known, but it is commonly done. If society already eats bugs without knowing, then maybe it would not be so bad to consume insects on their own. Additionally, even though bugs are considered “dirty”, we can put out the cultural message that cows and pigs live in poor environments and can be considered “Dirty” as well. They are usually filled with antibiotics so they so no obtain any diseases from their poor living conditions, however they still lived in a poor environment similar to bugs. If one can eat a cow, they can eat a bug as well. Additionally, many other countries consume bugs, and are healthy. For example, I remember my grandmother telling me that in Mexico, they would eat grasshoppers. They did not just pick them up off the ground and consumed them; they killed them, washed them, and prepped them similar to cooking a steak. If we send out the cultural message, I believe people would be much calmer about consuming bugs. Additionally we can send out the message that you do not have to just eat the bug by itself; you can do what is commonly done now, grinding them up into your favorite food. That way, you can obtain the high protein from the big as well as eating