Crunchy Critters

It’s time for lunch in Tokyo, Japan. Your friend Hiroshi is eating weird-smelling grilled octopus. “Want a bite?” he asks. “No way!” you reply. You watch the squiggly octopus legs disappear into Hiroshi’s mouth. Gross!

But is it really? Octopus is good for you and very nutritious. Why not eat it?

On the other hand, Hiroshi is like people in many parts of the world. He grew up drinking very little milk or eating cheese. To him, cheese is just spoiled cow’s milk, and that’s disgusting. Hiroshi would rather eat a bug than your grilled-cheese sandwich.

Bugs on the Menu

Speaking of bugs, did you know there are millions of people who think insects are delectable? In parts of South America, fried grasshoppers are a snack food. In Madagascar, an island off Africa, people eat fried crickets. In Asia, they like their crickets grilled. People in the U.S. used to eat crickets, too. Food fashions change.

If you don’t want your bugs plain, how about candied? Children in South Africa were recently served chocolate-covered termites (bugs that eat wood). It was part of a program about insects at the zoo. Chocolate-covered ants have been around for years. You can find them in some fancy food stores.

Good Grub!

The word “grub” is slang for ‘food,” but most of your friends would probably run home if you served them grubs or worms. Yet in Australia, the Aborigines, who lived there before European people came, think highly of witchety grubs. Witchety grubs are an Australian moth larva. When cooked in ashes, they have an almond flavor.

Then there are the mammals. Dogs have been eaten in Asia and in Mexico. The Aztec Indians even had a special breed of edible dog. In Peru, South America, guinea pigs can turn up your dinner plate. And in Thailand, people smack their lips over roasted rat.

What you want to eat depends on where you live. You like the foods you grew up with. So do kids in other countries. And that’s food for thought!

— adapted by Jocelyn Piro