Snacking on bugs: Students at Yokohama, Japan, show how

Yuta Shinohara (R) from Keio University cooks a lizard at a get-together in Tokyo on December 21, 2015. People gather a few times each month through word of mouth and social media sites to sample various insects and other creatures. Bugs are a staple in Japanese cuisine given their abundance in the region. (AFP)

Updated on: Feb 25, 2016 7:03 PM IST

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Yuta Shinohara (R) from Keio University cooks a lizard at a get-together in Tokyo on December 21, 2015. People gather a few times each month through word of mouth and social media sites to sample various insects and other creatures. Bugs are a staple in Japanese cuisine given their abundance in the region. (AFP)

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The range of insects consumed in Japan is vast -- from boiled wasp larvae, silk moth pupae, aquatic insect larvae to grasshopper. (AFP)

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Not just Japan, many countries across the world have insects as one of the specialities in their cuisine. These include countries such as China, Ghana, Mexico and Brazil. A young woman admires a plate of insects at a get-together in Tokyo. (AFP)

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Here are few other insects you wouldn’t believe are edible --Stinkbug (Mexico, Southern Africa), Tarantula (Cambodia and Venezuela) and Dragonfly (Indonesia) to name a few. (AFP)

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The health benefits of having bugs are immense, say experts. While the protein content is as high as any non vegetarian diet, fat content is dramatically less. (AFP)

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As per USNews web site, 100 grams of top sirloin beef (meat cut from the rear back portion of the animal) contains about 29 grams of protein in addition to a whopping 21 grams of fat, while 100 grams of grasshopper contains 20 grams of protein and a measly six grams of fat. (AFP)

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Additionally, farming insects emits 10 times less greenhouse gases as compared to livestock, says Dr Belgian entomologist Arnold van Huis in The Guardian. (AFP)

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Despite a sizable chunk of humanity (close to 2 billion according to some estimates) consuming insects, why are we disgusted at the idea of snacking on bugs? According to Prof Manfred Kroger of Pennsylvania State University, the reason is our eating habits are conditioned by our culture, says National Geographic. (AFP)