AOL -- Americans aren't eating enough insects, and that bugs foodies like Andrew Zimmern.
Zimmern, host of the popular Travel Channel series "Bizarre Foods," travels the world tasting the local vittles in various countries. Some are quite foreign to American taste buds, and, at least in the case of insects, he thinks Yanks are missing out on some good eating.
For instance, one of Zimmern's favorite snacks is a handful of chapulines, a taste treat from the Mexican state of Oaxaca that combines dry-roasted grasshoppers with lime and chili. Another is an Ecuadoran dish where coconut grubs are marinated in orange juice before being grilled.
"I was on a trip once where someone made those for us, and I'll tell you, everyone there couldn't get enough," Zimmern said.
The idea of eating insects upsets many Americans stomachs, but they are commonly eaten in other parts of the world, such as Asia, Latin America and Africa. In fact, DailyMe.com reports that dishes like boiled bee larvae, green tree ants and yanagimushi worms are currently all the rage with Japanese gourmets.
It's a trend that Zimmern hopes will infest the West for a variety of reasons.
"Should we be eating insects instead of Doritos?" Zimmern asked rhetorically. "Yes, but it's a chicken-or-egg thing. The fact that we don't is illustrative of how far Americans are removed from our food sources. We've forgotten that our ancestors ate from necessity. As a result, we've become reliant on four or five food companies who only serve us center-of-the-animal foods."
Hey, if Andrew Zimmern says it, we must follow... right? Throw away your Captain Crunch and start eating some Fruity Grasshoppers. Or maybe some Frosted Spiders. Whatever works for you. But the point is, we're missing out. The whole world does it! We're "removed" from our food sources. That means we should start going back to what the cavemen did, right? Like just pick up a bug off the ground and chomp away? I'm contemplating which decision is best for me. Should I go meet Andrew Zimmern and have a scrumptious Praying Mantis dinner with some Honey Bees for dessert? Or should I build a time machine for him and tell him to go back to 456 B.C. if he wants to eat bugs for dinner?
Vote 1 for Zimmern has this down pat and we all need to start eating more bugs. Vote 5 for he should have been in the scene in the Lion King where Timon and Pumba convince Simba that it's good to eat bugs.
Zimmern, host of the popular Travel Channel series "Bizarre Foods," travels the world tasting the local vittles in various countries. Some are quite foreign to American taste buds, and, at least in the case of insects, he thinks Yanks are missing out on some good eating.
For instance, one of Zimmern's favorite snacks is a handful of chapulines, a taste treat from the Mexican state of Oaxaca that combines dry-roasted grasshoppers with lime and chili. Another is an Ecuadoran dish where coconut grubs are marinated in orange juice before being grilled.
"I was on a trip once where someone made those for us, and I'll tell you, everyone there couldn't get enough," Zimmern said.
The idea of eating insects upsets many Americans stomachs, but they are commonly eaten in other parts of the world, such as Asia, Latin America and Africa. In fact, DailyMe.com reports that dishes like boiled bee larvae, green tree ants and yanagimushi worms are currently all the rage with Japanese gourmets.
It's a trend that Zimmern hopes will infest the West for a variety of reasons.
"Should we be eating insects instead of Doritos?" Zimmern asked rhetorically. "Yes, but it's a chicken-or-egg thing. The fact that we don't is illustrative of how far Americans are removed from our food sources. We've forgotten that our ancestors ate from necessity. As a result, we've become reliant on four or five food companies who only serve us center-of-the-animal foods."
Hey, if Andrew Zimmern says it, we must follow... right? Throw away your Captain Crunch and start eating some Fruity Grasshoppers. Or maybe some Frosted Spiders. Whatever works for you. But the point is, we're missing out. The whole world does it! We're "removed" from our food sources. That means we should start going back to what the cavemen did, right? Like just pick up a bug off the ground and chomp away? I'm contemplating which decision is best for me. Should I go meet Andrew Zimmern and have a scrumptious Praying Mantis dinner with some Honey Bees for dessert? Or should I build a time machine for him and tell him to go back to 456 B.C. if he wants to eat bugs for dinner?
Vote 1 for Zimmern has this down pat and we all need to start eating more bugs. Vote 5 for he should have been in the scene in the Lion King where Timon and Pumba convince Simba that it's good to eat bugs.
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