Dear friend,
I have a question for you: would you eat a cricket?
For the past few weeks, I’ve been asking every person in my life this question. Let’s just say that it has led to some very interesting dinner party conversations. I’ve been amazed at the range of responses I’ve received to this question. I’ve heard everything from “No way!” to “Hmm, maybe” to “Absolutely! Why? Did you bring one with you?”
This question has been prompted by a new line of protein bars on the market that have really got me thinking because they’re made from, ahem… cricket flour.
About a month ago I got an email from a company called Exo, a NYC-based startup pioneering the use of cricket flour as a healthful, sustainable and delicious protein source telling me about their products and offering me a sample to try. Exo has four different flavors of bars that combine cricket flour with nuts, seeds, and other goodies to make the bars taste really good. Apparently cricket flour protein bars are one of the newest crazes in the Paleo community so I decided to do a bit more research about crickets and the bars in general.
My thoughts and what I learned:
- I’ve known for a long time that crickets and other insects are a dietary staple in many other countries so it wasn’t surprising that this practice is being brought to the US. However, what I didn’t previously know is that insects have so many nutritional benefits! Crickets are a complete protein source (containing all the essential amino acids) and are very high in iron, calcium, and B-vitamins.
- Crickets are more sustainable to raise than cattle because they don’t produce as much methane and also don’t require as many resources. Very interesting.
- I was onboard with the reason behind eating crickets, but my next concern became how the insects were raised and treated. From my own research I learned that it’s unclear how developed a cricket’s nervous system is so we’re not quite sure how they feel pain compared to other animals. Hmm. Since factory farming for animals is such a horrific problem in the US it made me question… could crickets be next?
- When I posed this question to Exo, I was really glad to hear that they work directly with domestic farms to raise the crickets specifically for human consumption and they are very concerned about the quality- including the quality of life that goes into the product. (If you’re interested to know how it’s done, the process starts with the crickets being flash-frozen so they feel no pain. Once they are flash-frozen, then they are dehydrated and milled into a fine flour that is used in the bars.)
After all this research, the only question left was… would I eat a cricket? (Actually, since each bar contains approximately 40 crickets, the more appropriate question is would I eat 40 crickets?)
To be completely honest with you, I was really nervous about it. Once I received the bars I actually set them aside for a whole week because every time I thought about trying one I got a little queasy. I knew the bars would probably taste pretty good, but I couldn’t shake the mental factor that I was going to be eating crickets. It also brought up a lot of guilt for me. As an ex-vegetarian/vegan, I am always conscious of the food I eat, where it comes from, and the sacrifices that were made in order for me to consume it.
So, logically, the only way to handle this situation was to drag a few friends into and get some social support while documenting the whole thing…
Overall I have to say that the bars were pretty good. I can honestly say I never would have known they contained anything besides fruits and nuts from the taste alone. I love that they use fruit instead of adding refined sugars, but the bars are a tad sweet so if you are sensitive to sugar or have blood sugar issues, please be aware of this. Also, if you don’t consume grains, be aware that the PB and Jelly flavor does contain rice and oats.
I still have some thoughts and questions around how to make snack bars even more sustainable, but I really wanted to share this product with you since it’s such an interesting concept and created so many fascinating conversations in my life.
If crickets aren’t your thing then this might not be the snack bar for you, but if you are interested in trying them yourself, I’m really excited to share a coupon code you can use for 25% off. Just enter the code SONNET25 on the Exo website during checkout to receive your discount!
I’m super curious to hear your thoughts about the bars so feel free to leave a comment below and join in the conversation!
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