BBC Learnings · Section 4

Eating bugs

Do you like trying new food? I do indeed.

Level: B2 · 96 sentences

Transcript

  1. Do you like trying new food?
  2. I do indeed.
  3. I love eating foods from around the world
  4. and I especially like trying out restaurants that serve
  5. new kinds of food.
  6. Me too. And I like food that is a mix of different styles,
  7. sometimes called fusion food.
  8. But could I tempt you to some insect tapas or a tarantula doughnut?
  9. Maybe not. The idea of eating food made from bugs and creepy crawlies doesn't appeal.
  10. Well, maybe I can convince you in this programme
  11. because that's what we're discussing
  12. and teaching you some vocabulary along the way.
  13. But first, I must serve you a question to answer.
  14. It's about food, but not made from bugs.
  15. Do you know what type of food is sometimes known as priest chokers?
  16. Is it a cheese, b pasta or c potato?
  17. I think I know this one, Neil.
  18. It's pasta, isn't it?
  19. Well, I'll give you the answer at the end of the programme.
  20. But let's get back to food made from bugs,
  21. which is a growing trend in the Western world.
  22. Insects are an alternative source of food and experts say they're filled with lots of good nutrients,
  23. including amino acids and protein.
  24. And eating them could help to fight world hunger and reduce pollution.
  25. I'm not convinced yet,
  26. but I do know that the word for eating insects is entomophagy
  27. and it's something BBC World Service programme The Food Chain discussed.
  28. The programme spoke to experts who think cooking with bugs is a great idea.
  29. One of them was Andy Holcroft, founding director of Grub Kitchen and Bug Farm Foods.
  30. He explained the challenge of getting some people to eat bugs.
  31. In the Western culture,
  32. we have got a bit of an uphill I'd say struggle
  33. because preconceptions around eating insects are already sort of ingrained in society.
  34. So we already think before we even tried them,
  35. they're going to taste disgusting or gross.
  36. So to actually get someone to put it in your mouth,
  37. the easiest way we find straight away is to try maybe a cricket cookie
  38. or a chocolate chip cricket cookie
  39. where you have, we're using cricket powder.
  40. So you don't actually see any insects whatsoever.
  41. You're getting the idea that you're eating them.
  42. So people can deal with that a bit more than actually seeing the whole insects
  43. Interestingly, it seems to be Western cultures that don't like eating insects,
  44. perhaps because it's thought to be wrong or just disgusting, even if it's not.
  45. As Andy says, people have preconceived ideas about it.
  46. To change these ideas is an uphill struggle or needs a lot of effort to achieve.
  47. Yes, the negative attitude to eating bugs is ingrained into society,
  48. meaning it is a long-lasting attitude that is difficult to change.
  49. But Andy and other chefs are trying to change that attitude by subtly introducing insects into food,
  50. such as his chocolate chip cricket cookies.
  51. This is just for starters.
  52. Other interesting and exotic dishes where you do see the bugs you're eating are now being served.
  53. I'm still not convinced but maybe chef Joseph Youn can change my mind.
  54. He is a chef and an edible insect ambassador.
  55. He's also trying to persuade the squeamish people easily upset by something unpleasant to overcome their fears of crickets,
  56. worms and spiders and instead see them as a tasty alternative source of protein.
  57. Here he is speaking on the BBC's Food Chain programme talking about changing people's attitudes.
  58. We approach our work with openness, with understanding and inclusivity.
  59. When people approach me and they go like, eww,
  60. or they react very viscerally, I don't get confrontational.
  61. I go like, I understand that you can feel that way.
  62. And what we need to do is start changing these perceptions
  63. from insects as being a pest that bites you
  64. or that carries disease to edible insects,
  65. something that's sustainably farmed and harvested specifically for human consumption.
  66. So Joseph is passionate about edible insects,
  67. but his understanding of people who don't like the idea,
  68. and maybe show this viscerally,
  69. having an emotional reaction rather than one based on fact or reason.
  70. But Joseph wants to change these negative emotions by explaining the insects
  71. are farmed purely for humans to eat
  72. and they are farmed sustainably,
  73. in a way that can last for a long time and is good for the environment.
  74. I suppose we kill animals such as cows and sheep to eat,
  75. so why not insects or spiders?
  76. The debate about this continues.
  77. But there's no debate about the answer to today's question, Sam.
  78. Earlier I asked you if you knew what type of food is sometimes known as priest choker.
  79. And I was sure it was pasta.
  80. It is pasta.
  81. Strozza preti, which means priest chokers in Italian,
  82. is an elongated form of cavatelli pasta.
  83. Its name is thought to come from the greedy priests
  84. who were so enthralled by the pasta
  85. that they ate too quickly and choked themselves.
  86. No bugs were involved though.
  87. That's good to know because we have been talking about entomophagy,
  88. a word for the practice of eating insects.
  89. Other vocabulary we mentioned included fusion,
  90. which means a mix of different styles,
  91. and the expression an uphill struggle means needs a lot of effort to achieve.
  92. Something that is ingrained is a long-lasting attitude that is difficult to change.
  93. viscerally describes having an emotional reaction rather than one based on fact or reason.
  94. And doing something sustainably is doing it in a way
  95. that can last for a long time
  96. and is good for the environment.