Photo of a bowl of mealworms. On Insects and Worms for Food: ‘Snub the Grub’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant The Society August 24, 2022 Culture, Poetry, Satire 61 Comments . Snub the Grub upon reading news of a beetle burger, The Daily Mail, August 24, 2022 I scan the menu (a la carte) To find that I can take no part In scarab chowder with a pinch Of millipede. It makes me flinch. I see a cricket on the ticket Soused in gin—I might just lick it. Weeviled eggs and grilled bee steak, Mealworm flambé, larva cake, Caterpillars Rockefeller, Any crunchy cabbage-dweller, Churn my gut and turn my tum. None of them inspire a Yum! I really haven’t got the heart For baked cicadas in a tart. I’ll pass on pan-fried butterfly, Beetle burgers, locust pie, Poached roaches in an aphid jus With maggot mash (I’m apt to spew). Leech cobbler topped with lice ice cream Is not my finest sweet-treat dream, And as for silverfish and chips, No insect scale will pass these lips. Spider sliders, slug sorbet— Absolutely not! No way! Not even if they’re sugar dipped Or rosehip-honey butter whipped. No creeping, crawling, slithering thing Will make my dumbstruck tastebuds sing. My vow to save the planet now Has wafted like a farty cow. . . Susan Jarvis Bryant has poetry published on Lighten Up Online, Snakeskin, Light, Sparks of Calliope, and Expansive Poetry Online. She also has poetry published in TRINACRIA, Beth Houston’s Extreme Formal Poems anthology, and in Openings (anthologies of poems by Open University Poets in the UK). Susan is the winner of the 2020 International SCP Poetry Competition, and has been nominated for the 2022 Pushcart Prize. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. 61 Responses Tonia Kalouria August 24, 2022 OMGosh! This is hilarious! Unlike your subject matter — a wonderful treat! So well written: Just plain fun to read! Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant August 25, 2022 Thank you very much, Tonia. I love to take an unpalatable subject and inject a bit of much needed humor into it – it always makes the crux of the issue more memorable. I’m thrilled you enjoyed it. Reply jd August 24, 2022 Knew it had to be you the moment I read the title, Susan. Despite feeling quite queasy halfway through I still had the stomach to appreciate your creative dishes and the two final lines. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant August 25, 2022 I am glad you managed to stay until the closing couplet, jd. This poem is one of the most skin-crawling poems I’ve ever written… even I had trouble getting to the end! Reply Mike Bryant August 24, 2022 I just love the way you write, Susan. How do you do it? Chitin is a chemical in the exoskeleton of insects. It has long been known as a carcinogen. It also has many other adverse effects on mammals. If you identify as a bird or a lizard I guess eating bugs is okay… otherwise don’t chance it. Of course, today all the Wiki articles and government funded studies say that insects are absolutely safe and nutritious. If you still believe what the government is pushing, I have a really nice bridge in Brooklyn you might want to purchase. “But what really sucks, and the whole point is this — is that they ignore the main reason that humans eat bugs. It’s because they’re poor and they don’t have access to better food. So instead, these fools try to make poverty seem like fun. I mean, do you think an African child would eat a plate of mealworms if they could have a bowl of pesto instead of pests?” – Greg Gutfeld “The fact is, restaurants that have bugs on the menu are only because someone used the menu to swat a fly.” Greg Gutfeld Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant August 25, 2022 Mike, thank you for your understanding, continued support, and snippets of well-researched educative material (tough to find on the internet these days) coupled with a pinch of humor. Everyone should check out the evils of chitin. Not everything our ‘caring’ global government tell us is for the benefit of our good health… it is usually for the benefit of their bank balance… growing increasingly larger every time they secure another useless booster shot and mention another virus and lockdown. Reply Joshua C. Frank August 25, 2022 Mike, thank you for this bit of research! I thought bugs were good to eat because traditional cultures eat them, and I assumed that because the West is now so corrupt, anything other cultures are doing can’t be all that bad… guess I was wrong. I sure learn a lot from you and Susan. Reply Brian Yapko August 24, 2022 Susan, what a great romp through the disgusting intersection of cuisine and entomology! I think you’ve just invented a new category of literature: gross-out poetry — and I’m totally on board, although I don’t think my constitution will let me get through this poem a second time. Caterpillars Rockefeller and poached roaches caught my eye and gave me a nice lurch in the stomach. I would almost like to believe that the beetle burger is a joke (perhaps inspired by the Fab Four?) Alas, I suspect it’s real. You’ve brought back memories of my visit to the ice cream shop Salt ‘n Straw in Portland where they have grasshopper and cricket ice cream. They were giving out free samples. I declined. Life’s hard enough without having to eat bugs. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant August 25, 2022 Brian, thank you for your creative comment! I love your ‘gross-out poetry’ idea… there would be no shortage of inspiration in the increasingly repellent world we find ourselves living in today. I think Salt ‘n Straw in Portland had a business tip-off with their icky cricket ice cream idea. We’re a grasshopper’s leg breadth away from insects replacing more sumptuous proteins in our diets, whether we like it or not. You won’t catch me licking a cricket cornet… unless of course, the cricket’s been soused in gin! Reply Wayne August 24, 2022 ‘Has Wafted’ like a well spoken word. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant August 25, 2022 Thank you very much, Wayne… high praise, indeed! Stay away from the beetle burgers! Reply Joseph S. Salemi August 24, 2022 The people who are pushing this insect-based menu on the world are the usual suspects: crackpot environmentalists, anti-meat vegans, persons who think that haute cuisine is “elitist,” the morons who vote Green, and of course the super-rich globalists who hate the idea of ordinary people having a great traditional meal. (Their view is that poor slobs like us should be reduced to the barest subsistence level.) The next time some liberal jackass tries to tell you that “We have to save the planet,” answer that the best way to start would be for everyone like him to commit suicide. Reply Mike Bryant August 25, 2022 Joe, The WEF headed by Klaus Schwab has his minions in places of power all over the earth. He has already effected starvation in Sri Lanka by forcing every farmer to grow crops without the use of nitrogen fertilizer. He is also the reason for the recent troubles in The Netherlands. The government is about to curtail a significant amount of food production there by slashing the amount of nitrogen fertilizer farmers can use and by slashing the number of cattle that will be allowed. Make no mistake, this is all about culling the human race. It’s one thing to eat some bug as a matter of choice. It’s quite another to be forced to subsist on an experimental diet of grub worms and crickets. Here’s a tweet from the WEF explaining why we “might be eating bugs soon” : https://mobile.twitter.com/wef/status/1051389674277797888? This is the current “Current Thing.” As you know, every current thing is the new test that let’s everyone know those who are welcoming our new World SSR. Oh about the Current Thing: https://classicalpoets.org/2022/04/15/a-poem-for-good-friday-support-the-current-thing-by-susan-jarvis-bryant/#/ Anyone who supports this Current Thing should volunteer for the new 24/7 insect diet. It’s coming soon to a metropolitan area near YOU! In fact, volunteer your whole family. That would be a tremendous service for our quickly uniting world. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant August 25, 2022 Joe, these are the very same people who want to dramatically reduce the population in order to save the planet… why on earth would we trust them when they tell us that eating bugs is for our personal long-term benefit. Perhaps they should give up their jet-setting, do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do lifestyles before they start lecturing those who can barely afford to put food on the table and gas in their cars, that’s if they are lucky enough to own a car. Reply Roy E. Peterson August 25, 2022 As one who had to devour a few of the treats you mentioned while I was in Vietnam, I assure all many of them are tasteless and can only be tolerated with either with the pungent fish sauce served with them or the hot peppers they called “ah,” which is about all one can say when swallowing it. Thank goodness your wonderful poem comes down to good sense and disdaining such dishes. Fun to read and contemplate. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant August 25, 2022 Thank you very much, Roy. Your description enforces my attitude towards eating bugs. The key words in your comment are that in Vietnam you “had to devour” them. Choice is of the essence. We are now living in a world where personal choice is becoming increasingly rare. Even if we choose not to believe it, there is plenty of evidence pointing to the truth. Insects will be a major part of our diet soon… the WEF are telling us this, loud and clear, for those who stop to listen. Reply Paul A. Freeman August 25, 2022 Very amusing, Susan. I read the article on the ‘insect burger’ – I’d be just as worried about the amount of sugar in it considering the growing obesity and diabetes rates around the world. Just to put in my tuppenceworth, I lived in an area of sub-Saharan Africa for several years where the staple food was polenta (ground maize made into a sort of porridge), with a bitter boiled vegetable called ‘ragari’ or maybe meat (chicken or beef) once a week. On the insect front, I ate mopani worms once (they look pretty gross but were quite delicious and are considered a delicacy), had fried termites once (they tasted like smoky bacon crisps / chips), and every year, when locusts were about, we would put on the lights of the tennis courts and collect them in bags when they alighted on the chain-link fences. Their preparation (legs and wings pulled off and thrown live into heated oil to cook in their own fat) was pretty traumatic to see, but again, they tasted delicious. I also spent several years living in central Sudan, where the very idea of eating crabs, lobsters and prawns was nauseating to the local populace. I never saw anyone eating insects in the parts of Sudan I lived in and visited, by the way. Then of course in Europe (if we can lump all European countries together as we – and Greg Gutfield the talk host and comedian – tend to do with African countries) we eat winkles, mussels, oysters and snails, the latter two being delicacies. That said, I’m not an insect guy, but I’m not afraid to try them. And I’m sure Byron would have given them a go, too. Reply Joseph S. Salemi August 25, 2022 Once again, Paul, you elide the main point of the entire discussion, and of Susan’s poem. No one has argued that it is impossible to CHOOSE to eat bugs, or that some backward cultures have made a habit of the practice. Humans are free to eat anything they like. The issue is not whether consumption of insects is possible, or whether you have had individual experiences of it in your travels. The issue is that such consumption is being PUSHED AND FORCED by vermin like Klaus Schwab, and by those idiots who are deliberately preventing the use of nitrogen fertilizers in Sri Lanka and limiting cattle in the Netherlands, in order to cut back on the normal supplies of grain and meat. That sick bastard Bill Gates is buying up vast tracts of cattle-grazing land in America, to prevent it being available for meat production. And all you can do is tell us about how nice some bugs taste? This main issue has nothing to do with whether you like to eat bugs or not. It has to do with the incessant push of left-liberals to control the lives of other people, and to break their traditions and habits to suit ideological agendas. As for Byron, he would have done anything on a dare. That’s not the same thing as being forced to live on insects by globalist tyrants. Don’t try to deflect the discussion from its real subject. Reply Paul Freeman August 25, 2022 Quite frankly, Joe, I was addressing comments in the comments section that condemn anyone who habitually consumes insects as being part of a ‘backward culture’, or being poverty-stricken and really wanting ‘better food’. Am I supposed to have pre-knowledge of the numerous conspiracy theories you and Mike have alluded to, or am I to read a poem at its face value? That’s all. No deflection, no ulterior motive, so please do me the courtesy of not firing off a ‘hot’ comment, as Lincoln might have called it. Mike Bryant August 25, 2022 https://duckduckgo.com/?q=conspiracy+theories+that+were+true&t=ipad&ia=web Joseph S. Salemi August 25, 2022 Ah, what a great way to wriggle out of an argument, Paul. Your first paragraph says that you were only “addressing comments in the comments section.” Then your second paragraph pretends to know nothing about the FACTS presented by Mike Bryant concerning the patent efforts to strangle the food supply. Wasn’t that in the comments section too? Then you quickly shift gears, and say that you were only reading Susan’s poem “at its face value.” You know, you can pull that kind of rhetorical legerdemain at other websites, but you can’t get away with it here. Mike Bryant August 25, 2022 Joe, Paul is absolutely correct. Misinformation is extremely dangerous to our Democracy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksb3KD6DfSI Mike Bryant August 25, 2022 For those who are still confused about what is happening in our world today, the incomparable Neil Oliver will spell it out for you… all in under ten minutes! https://choiceclips.whatfinger.com/2022/06/05/the-state-is-no-longer-working-to-serve-us-and-to-protect-our-shared-heritage-neil-oliver/ Some people STILL believe that the state is looking out for our best interests. Mike Bryant August 25, 2022 If anyone is having trouble with Neil Oliver’s accent, here is an article from a year ago that lays out what we are up against: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/oureconomy/conspiracy-theories-aside-there-something-fishy-about-great-reset/ Joshua C. Frank August 25, 2022 Joe, Paul does this to Susan all the time. I’d like to pull out a quatrain I wrote that I used with the last people to try to argue with him: Never argue with the woke; You can’t convince such stubborn folk. Perhaps we’ll better meet our goals Deciding not to feed the trolls! Paul Freeman August 25, 2022 Do you really think I’m interested in your cut-and-past collections of …. whatever, or my first hand experiences and the evidence of my own eyes? The lunatics have truly taken over the asylum. This is why I’ve witnessed at least two traditional poets chased off this site, and probably why others post once and no more. Mike Bryant August 25, 2022 Paul… no one ever said that free speech was easy. Some people just can’t bear hearing a different opinion. Paul A Freeman August 26, 2022 “Some people just can’t bear hearing a different opinion.” Never a truer word, Mike. If only you could see the irony. Reply Paul A Freeman August 26, 2022 Alternatively, Joshua – and if you bother to look, any arguments started here in the comments – but then truth is the first casualty. Never argue with the right; You cannot change their ingrained spite. And if you air a different view It’s tag team bully time for you. Mike Bryant August 26, 2022 Bully? Did someone say something about irony? Don’t succumb to hate or spite. Let your heart be filled with song. When you argue with the right You are on the side of wrong. Joshua C. Frank August 26, 2022 Actually (and this is so readers may see another opinion written), I’d like it if liberals made it a policy never to argue with us. Our lives would be a lot easier. I don’t know why they have to invade conservative groups like this; I’ve seen it happen over and over. What, they don’t have enough power over us in all our institutions (governments, corporations, churches, media, publishing houses, etc.)? They want to take this away from us too? “You will be assimilated… resistance is futile.” Joshua C. Frank August 26, 2022 Hey Paul, one question: why do you go after Susan but not after Brian or me? Brian writes on many of the same topics, and some of my work is even more offensive to liberal beliefs. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I’m starting to feel a bit left out of the party. Is it because you have something personal against Susan? Maybe you treat her like this because she’s a woman? Dave Etchell August 25, 2022 let them eat Cockroaches eh — I can’t wait — well done once again Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant August 25, 2022 Thank you very much, Dave. We’ve certainly gone downhill since a slice of cake was on the menu… Marie Antoinette was a clueless pussycat compared to Klaus. Reply Martin Rizley August 25, 2022 Absolutely hilarious, Susan! I’m inclined to send a copy of this poem, along with a recipe for Caterpillars Rockefeller, to Klaus Schwab and his Davos cadre of Bond-like super villains who want to rule the world and dictate to the plebians the sort of “grub” we are permitted to eat. They’re welcome to consume all the poached roaches, maggot mush and leech cobbler their bug-loving hearts desire; I’ll stick with Angus burgers and pulled pork barbecue sandwiches, if you please– at least, for the foreseeable future. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant August 25, 2022 Martin, thank you for your highly entertaining and spot-on comment. I only hope “Klaus Schwab and his Davos cadre of Bond-like super villains” (great image) are chased off by those bold enough to take them on before bugs by the bucketload are the only thing left to eat! Enjoy those Angus burgers and pulled pork barbecue sandwiches while you still can… I’ll be doing the same here in Texas. Reply Jeff Eardley August 25, 2022 Susan, what a dose of gut churning brilliance. I was reminded of the great Burl Ives song, “I know an old lady who swallowed a fly” with the spider that, “Wriggled and wiggled and tickled inside her.” As I feed my resident garden pheasant with his daily dose of mealworms, I reflect that he will one day be a fancy meal on a rich man’s plate, who may then keel over with thrombosis, and post-internment, be consumed by more worms and so the whole cycle continues. The only thing worse to eat are the Roman snacks of “Badger spleens, Otters noses and Wolf-nipple chips” as mentioned in, “The Life of Brian.” Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant August 25, 2022 Jeff, thank you for this highly amusing comment. I remember laughing at those “Badger spleens, Otters noses and Wolf-nipple chips”. Thank you for a reminder of the good old days of wacky entertainment. I fear I’m going to be laughing on the other side of my face soon. I have a vision that like your resident pheasant, my mealworm-stuffed spleen will be served up on a silver platter to the global gods… but that’s all locust pie in the sky. All the time I don’t identify as a pheasant, it isn’t happening. Reply Mike Bryant August 25, 2022 Here’s a short video with Kees Aarts explaining some of the insect products his company, Protix, is making now. The short interview is taking place at Davos during the World Economic Forum. I wonder how many of the movers and shakers are investing in Mr. Aarts’ company; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FThTf94ifk8 Protix also provides insect powder for a cat food company that is made of black soldier fly larvae. It’s the Lovebug Pet Food company… poor cats… but we’re next. https://www.lovebugpetfood.com/pages/why-insect-based-cat-food Reply Joshua C. Frank August 25, 2022 Susan, how do you do it? You can take any subject and write a great poem about it, complete with the best form for it. Keep up the good work! Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant August 26, 2022 Josh, I am blessed with poetry in my heart… I simply can’t help myself. I’m inspired by many forms and subjects and sometimes the form and the subject matter are a perfect fit… even if the topic is eating bugs. YUK! Reply kate Farrell August 25, 2022 Susan, For some strange reason I just have to ask, how are things in Glocca Morra? Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant August 26, 2022 Kate, your comment has lifted me to music-filled spheres of nostalgia. Thank you! Reply Norma Pain August 25, 2022 What an amazingly icky poem. You have done it again Susan. This impending bug-influenced diet will have a lot of educated people running a mile from all of the processed foods that have been slowly killing us one way or another, and which soon may contain (without our knowledge), these icky additions. This poem should go viral as an educational tool for what is coming down the pike. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant August 26, 2022 Thank you very much, Norma. People should be warned… the more the better. We need to stand arm in arm and shun the grub. We need to stand up for our farmers and our culture before it dwindles to distant memory and our children are on the road to serfdom. Reply Phil S. Rogers August 25, 2022 Susan, just GREAT. I love this poem. My thoughts brilliantly expressed by your verse. Please keep it up Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant August 26, 2022 Thank you very, very much, Phil. I’m thrilled we think alike! There is sanity out there! 🙂 I will most certainly keep on keeping on. I simply have to. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant August 26, 2022 Dear Paul Freeman, It seems that the last few poems of mine you’ve commented on lead to you complaining that you’ve been bullied by the “tag team.” Instead of engaging in discussion, you hurl the insult of “conspiracy theorist,” play the victim, and hurl insults that inflame the situation, the latest being your knowledge of two people leaving because they’ve been chased off by “lunatics” who “have taken over the asylum”. Paul, as you are aware (the huge clue is in my closing couplet) this poem is about being forced to eat bugs in line with the green agenda. No one is mocking poor countries who are (sadly) forced to eat bugs. No one is mocking the well-travelled adventurous sorts for trying the local “delicacies” and no one is mocking you. Mike uses my comments page as a platform to get information that isn’t in the mainstream media out there so that people can make an informed decision instead of having to listen to the readily available propaganda. I know you don’t believe it is propaganda… for me it has been proven over and over, for you it hasn’t. We’ll leave it at that. Please don’t speak for others. Don’t accuse site members of running others off. I have done all in my power to encourage other writers with my poetry and my comments and hope I’ve been an inspiration. Dr. Salemi draws many people in with his poems, essays, and his discussions. I have learned much from him and so have many others. Mike is a great poet and moderator, going over and above his duties to keep the site running smoothly… a site that is ever growing not diminishing. If you find the message in my poems distasteful, please avoid them. Sincerely, Susan Reply Paul Freeman August 28, 2022 Maybe you (and everyone else looking at this thread) should read my opening comment, Susan. Just as some snakes are venomous and some aren’t, some insects are edible and others aren’t. To be jumped on by the tag team for enlightening on the ‘Red meat good, insects bad!’ mantra, shows great intolerance and ignorance. As for being told to avoid poems I disagree with – which in this case I don’t disagree with since lice, silverfish and several other insects you mention are obviously inedible – I would not be able to let folks know there are some edible insects rated as highly as, say, prawns and Oysters some Western countries if I did this. Cue the well known discourse on the first person to ever eat an oyster. And cue … tag team! Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant August 28, 2022 Oh, so your opening comment by your own admission was to enlighten the clueless because you think my poem is a ‘red meat good insects bad mantra’. I will admit to missing that one. I was irked because you hurl insults but never enter into a sensible debate. The poem isn’t a ‘red meat good insects bad mantra’ as Dr. Salemi, Mike and I have pointed out and several commenters have noted. It’s a humorous protest against being forced under the policies of the WEF to eat insects while they are in the process of shutting down the farming industry globally. For pointing out the obvious as you have missed it big time, we have been insulted into the bargain. I’ll now add ‘intolerant’ and ‘ignorant’ to the list of: bully, tag team, conspiracy theorists, and lunatics taking over the asylum. It would seem to me your accusations of ‘intolerance’ and ‘ignorance’ are misplaced. To steal a quote from you: “If only you could see the irony”. Mike Bryant August 28, 2022 Susan, it is obvious that Paul is an urbane, sophisticated world-traveler. His knowledge on almost every subject is so vast, it makes the rest of us seem like hillbillies or flat earthers by comparison. You have been properly mansplained. Joshua C. Frank August 28, 2022 Paul, maybe you didn’t see my question in response to your initial comment, but I want an answer: “Hey Paul, one question: why do you go after Susan but not after Brian or me? Brian writes on many of the same topics, and some of my work is even more offensive to liberal beliefs. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I’m starting to feel a bit left out of the party. Is it because you have something personal against Susan? Maybe you treat her like this because she’s a woman?” If you refuse to answer, I (and most likely others) will treat your silence as a confirmation of your misogyny. Ironic, given how many liberals accuse conservatives of such… but given how many liberals are in favor of a new world order that tricks girls into getting themselves spayed like dogs and injected with testosterone, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Dave Hardesty August 26, 2022 Spider Sliders. I almost fell over laughing. Next time I go to an Oyster bar and they ak me what I want I’ll tell them ,”A fresh plate of Spider Sliders. I’m certain that will get a reaction. Thanks for your humor. Honestly, once you get past US cultural mentality, some bugs are pretty tastey. It just takes some getting use to. The eating of bugs is also discussed in the Bible and I’m pretty certain you know that. But your poem was very funny. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant August 27, 2022 Thank you very much, Dave. I abhor live spiders… the thought of chowing down on spider sliders sends chills. As for eating bugs, I’ve absolutely no problem with people doing whatever tickles their fancy… I just don’t want the WEF to forcefully reduce our menu to spider sliders and spider sliders alone. Our food already contains insects and the only way we know is if we bother to read the ingredients. If crickets have never been in our favorite chips before, why would we assume they’re in there now… they may be… please check if you don’t want bug parts to pass your lips. 😉 Reply David Watt August 27, 2022 Susan, you effortlessly inject humour into even the most unpalatable of subjects! Although Australian aboriginals ate witchetty grubs and bogong moths, it was through choice, and they sensibly steered clear of crunchy chitin encased creatures. Perish the day when exceeding our carbon footprint limits our menu choices to hopper burgers and mealworm muffins. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant August 27, 2022 David, thank you very much for appreciating my strange humour, and more importantly, thank you for appreciating the message conveyed in this tasteless poem. I love your hopper burgers and mealworm muffins… in the linguistic sense only. If ever you offer me a real one, I will have to politely decline. Reply Yael August 27, 2022 Thanks for such a fun read Susan, on a thoroughly disgusting topic! Your menu suggestions almost make eating bugs sound classy and appetizing. “Leech cobbler topped with lice ice cream…silverfish and chips,” – almost sounds delicious. As for me, no insect scale will pass my lips either, because I live by the dietary advice of God’s Word in the Bible, which serves me very well. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant August 28, 2022 Yael, it’s always lovely to read your comments and I am thrilled that my wriggly nibbles sound delicious. My poetry must be at its peak! Although, I’m glad you weren’t tempted to look up the recipes… the dietary advice of God’s Word in the Bible wins, thank goodness! Yael, thank you very much for the smile! Reply Margaret Coats August 28, 2022 Susan, a most entertaining poem on the culinary potential of insects and worms. You well express the dismay many of us feel at the prospect. That includes vegetarians and vegans–whether their motive is non-violence toward animals or better health for themselves. Why these plans to introduce new sources of animal protein in the human diet? Isn’t plant-based food good enough? And don’t insects carry disease? Though worms contribute to agriculture by aerating the soil, they also transfer pathogens from beasts to humans. Not to mention varieties of worms that are themselves dangerous parasites in a human body. The gnat and fly plagues in Exodus precede livestock disease and human disease. The locust plague then destroys all plant sources of food. Can you imagine what might happen when entrepreneurs start cultivating insects and worms on a global scale, especially with gain-of-function research? Nouvelle cuisine could end up killing the planet along with us. Can Mike find any information on food-borne disease in grub-and-bug eating regions? I strongly suspect children (who sometimes eat dirt) might be especially susceptible. Reply Mike Bryant August 29, 2022 Margaret, you are correct in assuming that insect farming carries significant risks to children. I have found a synopsis of studies that points out many, many concerns with this budding industry. https://straydoginstitute.org/black-soldier-flies-are-not-an-ideal-solution-for-global-food-waste/ I believe, after reading the article, that the main danger for people lies in the level of bureaucratic control that would be necessary to make this new rent-seeking industry a frightening reality. Think about what these rent-seekers have done to the earth’s energy production and the high energy costs that are now driving many into serfdom… all to transfer wealth from the poorest of the world into the ever-increasing ranks of the politically connected billionaires. This is just one more ploy pushed by WEF and its minions to centralize every decision. We know how central planning works. Imagine central planning driven by Artificial Intelligence… an AI programmed by the starry-eyed, would-be rulers of the brave, new, godless utopia. Reply Lannie David Brockstein August 29, 2022 It is concerning that here in Canada, the federal government has funded an insect factory farm in London, Ontario. What might happen to Ontario’s crops, and those of its neighbouring provincial and state jurisdictions, if G-d forbid there is an insect leak at that factory farm—the same way it allegedly happened there was a virus leak at the virus factory farm, I mean virology lab, in Wuhan, China? Is a man-made famine part of “The Great Regret”, I mean “The Great Reset”? One of the easiest ways for the government to stop society’s gluttonous consumption of factory farmed meat products is for it to be transparent about how inhumanely factory farmed animals are treated. The Cartesian opinion that animals do not suffer when treated inhumanely is an extremely idiotic opinion. Only a moral retard would stubbornly perceive animals as “automata”, and thus as having no more sensitivity to pain than a mechanical clock or other kind of robot. Unlike microorganisms and plants, and like humans and animals, it is a scientific fact that insects have pain receptors. One of the reasons that insects are not kosher is because like giant sea-bugs, I mean shellfish, they cannot be slaughtered in a humane way, unlike cows, chickens, and fish with scales. Classical farming methods, which in today’s day and age are called “organic”, grow the soil, unlike Big Pharma’s modern farming methods that erode the soil thereby releasing more megatons of GHGEs into the atmosphere than does the automobile industry. It would be much better for the general public to significantly decrease its bad habit of food wastage, than for the government to subsidize inhumane insect factory farms that might eventually cause a famine of biblical proportions. Organic meat farms where the livestock is treated humanely can sustain the population, but not when there is an obscene amount of food being wasted by restaurants, supermarkets, and at the dinner table. Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Tonia Kalouria August 24, 2022 OMGosh! This is hilarious! Unlike your subject matter — a wonderful treat! So well written: Just plain fun to read! Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant August 25, 2022 Thank you very much, Tonia. I love to take an unpalatable subject and inject a bit of much needed humor into it – it always makes the crux of the issue more memorable. I’m thrilled you enjoyed it. Reply
jd August 24, 2022 Knew it had to be you the moment I read the title, Susan. Despite feeling quite queasy halfway through I still had the stomach to appreciate your creative dishes and the two final lines. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant August 25, 2022 I am glad you managed to stay until the closing couplet, jd. This poem is one of the most skin-crawling poems I’ve ever written… even I had trouble getting to the end! Reply
Mike Bryant August 24, 2022 I just love the way you write, Susan. How do you do it? Chitin is a chemical in the exoskeleton of insects. It has long been known as a carcinogen. It also has many other adverse effects on mammals. If you identify as a bird or a lizard I guess eating bugs is okay… otherwise don’t chance it. Of course, today all the Wiki articles and government funded studies say that insects are absolutely safe and nutritious. If you still believe what the government is pushing, I have a really nice bridge in Brooklyn you might want to purchase. “But what really sucks, and the whole point is this — is that they ignore the main reason that humans eat bugs. It’s because they’re poor and they don’t have access to better food. So instead, these fools try to make poverty seem like fun. I mean, do you think an African child would eat a plate of mealworms if they could have a bowl of pesto instead of pests?” – Greg Gutfeld “The fact is, restaurants that have bugs on the menu are only because someone used the menu to swat a fly.” Greg Gutfeld Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant August 25, 2022 Mike, thank you for your understanding, continued support, and snippets of well-researched educative material (tough to find on the internet these days) coupled with a pinch of humor. Everyone should check out the evils of chitin. Not everything our ‘caring’ global government tell us is for the benefit of our good health… it is usually for the benefit of their bank balance… growing increasingly larger every time they secure another useless booster shot and mention another virus and lockdown. Reply
Joshua C. Frank August 25, 2022 Mike, thank you for this bit of research! I thought bugs were good to eat because traditional cultures eat them, and I assumed that because the West is now so corrupt, anything other cultures are doing can’t be all that bad… guess I was wrong. I sure learn a lot from you and Susan. Reply
Brian Yapko August 24, 2022 Susan, what a great romp through the disgusting intersection of cuisine and entomology! I think you’ve just invented a new category of literature: gross-out poetry — and I’m totally on board, although I don’t think my constitution will let me get through this poem a second time. Caterpillars Rockefeller and poached roaches caught my eye and gave me a nice lurch in the stomach. I would almost like to believe that the beetle burger is a joke (perhaps inspired by the Fab Four?) Alas, I suspect it’s real. You’ve brought back memories of my visit to the ice cream shop Salt ‘n Straw in Portland where they have grasshopper and cricket ice cream. They were giving out free samples. I declined. Life’s hard enough without having to eat bugs. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant August 25, 2022 Brian, thank you for your creative comment! I love your ‘gross-out poetry’ idea… there would be no shortage of inspiration in the increasingly repellent world we find ourselves living in today. I think Salt ‘n Straw in Portland had a business tip-off with their icky cricket ice cream idea. We’re a grasshopper’s leg breadth away from insects replacing more sumptuous proteins in our diets, whether we like it or not. You won’t catch me licking a cricket cornet… unless of course, the cricket’s been soused in gin! Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant August 25, 2022 Thank you very much, Wayne… high praise, indeed! Stay away from the beetle burgers! Reply
Joseph S. Salemi August 24, 2022 The people who are pushing this insect-based menu on the world are the usual suspects: crackpot environmentalists, anti-meat vegans, persons who think that haute cuisine is “elitist,” the morons who vote Green, and of course the super-rich globalists who hate the idea of ordinary people having a great traditional meal. (Their view is that poor slobs like us should be reduced to the barest subsistence level.) The next time some liberal jackass tries to tell you that “We have to save the planet,” answer that the best way to start would be for everyone like him to commit suicide. Reply
Mike Bryant August 25, 2022 Joe, The WEF headed by Klaus Schwab has his minions in places of power all over the earth. He has already effected starvation in Sri Lanka by forcing every farmer to grow crops without the use of nitrogen fertilizer. He is also the reason for the recent troubles in The Netherlands. The government is about to curtail a significant amount of food production there by slashing the amount of nitrogen fertilizer farmers can use and by slashing the number of cattle that will be allowed. Make no mistake, this is all about culling the human race. It’s one thing to eat some bug as a matter of choice. It’s quite another to be forced to subsist on an experimental diet of grub worms and crickets. Here’s a tweet from the WEF explaining why we “might be eating bugs soon” : https://mobile.twitter.com/wef/status/1051389674277797888? This is the current “Current Thing.” As you know, every current thing is the new test that let’s everyone know those who are welcoming our new World SSR. Oh about the Current Thing: https://classicalpoets.org/2022/04/15/a-poem-for-good-friday-support-the-current-thing-by-susan-jarvis-bryant/#/ Anyone who supports this Current Thing should volunteer for the new 24/7 insect diet. It’s coming soon to a metropolitan area near YOU! In fact, volunteer your whole family. That would be a tremendous service for our quickly uniting world. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant August 25, 2022 Joe, these are the very same people who want to dramatically reduce the population in order to save the planet… why on earth would we trust them when they tell us that eating bugs is for our personal long-term benefit. Perhaps they should give up their jet-setting, do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do lifestyles before they start lecturing those who can barely afford to put food on the table and gas in their cars, that’s if they are lucky enough to own a car. Reply
Roy E. Peterson August 25, 2022 As one who had to devour a few of the treats you mentioned while I was in Vietnam, I assure all many of them are tasteless and can only be tolerated with either with the pungent fish sauce served with them or the hot peppers they called “ah,” which is about all one can say when swallowing it. Thank goodness your wonderful poem comes down to good sense and disdaining such dishes. Fun to read and contemplate. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant August 25, 2022 Thank you very much, Roy. Your description enforces my attitude towards eating bugs. The key words in your comment are that in Vietnam you “had to devour” them. Choice is of the essence. We are now living in a world where personal choice is becoming increasingly rare. Even if we choose not to believe it, there is plenty of evidence pointing to the truth. Insects will be a major part of our diet soon… the WEF are telling us this, loud and clear, for those who stop to listen. Reply
Paul A. Freeman August 25, 2022 Very amusing, Susan. I read the article on the ‘insect burger’ – I’d be just as worried about the amount of sugar in it considering the growing obesity and diabetes rates around the world. Just to put in my tuppenceworth, I lived in an area of sub-Saharan Africa for several years where the staple food was polenta (ground maize made into a sort of porridge), with a bitter boiled vegetable called ‘ragari’ or maybe meat (chicken or beef) once a week. On the insect front, I ate mopani worms once (they look pretty gross but were quite delicious and are considered a delicacy), had fried termites once (they tasted like smoky bacon crisps / chips), and every year, when locusts were about, we would put on the lights of the tennis courts and collect them in bags when they alighted on the chain-link fences. Their preparation (legs and wings pulled off and thrown live into heated oil to cook in their own fat) was pretty traumatic to see, but again, they tasted delicious. I also spent several years living in central Sudan, where the very idea of eating crabs, lobsters and prawns was nauseating to the local populace. I never saw anyone eating insects in the parts of Sudan I lived in and visited, by the way. Then of course in Europe (if we can lump all European countries together as we – and Greg Gutfield the talk host and comedian – tend to do with African countries) we eat winkles, mussels, oysters and snails, the latter two being delicacies. That said, I’m not an insect guy, but I’m not afraid to try them. And I’m sure Byron would have given them a go, too. Reply
Joseph S. Salemi August 25, 2022 Once again, Paul, you elide the main point of the entire discussion, and of Susan’s poem. No one has argued that it is impossible to CHOOSE to eat bugs, or that some backward cultures have made a habit of the practice. Humans are free to eat anything they like. The issue is not whether consumption of insects is possible, or whether you have had individual experiences of it in your travels. The issue is that such consumption is being PUSHED AND FORCED by vermin like Klaus Schwab, and by those idiots who are deliberately preventing the use of nitrogen fertilizers in Sri Lanka and limiting cattle in the Netherlands, in order to cut back on the normal supplies of grain and meat. That sick bastard Bill Gates is buying up vast tracts of cattle-grazing land in America, to prevent it being available for meat production. And all you can do is tell us about how nice some bugs taste? This main issue has nothing to do with whether you like to eat bugs or not. It has to do with the incessant push of left-liberals to control the lives of other people, and to break their traditions and habits to suit ideological agendas. As for Byron, he would have done anything on a dare. That’s not the same thing as being forced to live on insects by globalist tyrants. Don’t try to deflect the discussion from its real subject. Reply
Paul Freeman August 25, 2022 Quite frankly, Joe, I was addressing comments in the comments section that condemn anyone who habitually consumes insects as being part of a ‘backward culture’, or being poverty-stricken and really wanting ‘better food’. Am I supposed to have pre-knowledge of the numerous conspiracy theories you and Mike have alluded to, or am I to read a poem at its face value? That’s all. No deflection, no ulterior motive, so please do me the courtesy of not firing off a ‘hot’ comment, as Lincoln might have called it.
Mike Bryant August 25, 2022 https://duckduckgo.com/?q=conspiracy+theories+that+were+true&t=ipad&ia=web
Joseph S. Salemi August 25, 2022 Ah, what a great way to wriggle out of an argument, Paul. Your first paragraph says that you were only “addressing comments in the comments section.” Then your second paragraph pretends to know nothing about the FACTS presented by Mike Bryant concerning the patent efforts to strangle the food supply. Wasn’t that in the comments section too? Then you quickly shift gears, and say that you were only reading Susan’s poem “at its face value.” You know, you can pull that kind of rhetorical legerdemain at other websites, but you can’t get away with it here.
Mike Bryant August 25, 2022 Joe, Paul is absolutely correct. Misinformation is extremely dangerous to our Democracy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksb3KD6DfSI
Mike Bryant August 25, 2022 For those who are still confused about what is happening in our world today, the incomparable Neil Oliver will spell it out for you… all in under ten minutes! https://choiceclips.whatfinger.com/2022/06/05/the-state-is-no-longer-working-to-serve-us-and-to-protect-our-shared-heritage-neil-oliver/ Some people STILL believe that the state is looking out for our best interests.
Mike Bryant August 25, 2022 If anyone is having trouble with Neil Oliver’s accent, here is an article from a year ago that lays out what we are up against: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/oureconomy/conspiracy-theories-aside-there-something-fishy-about-great-reset/
Joshua C. Frank August 25, 2022 Joe, Paul does this to Susan all the time. I’d like to pull out a quatrain I wrote that I used with the last people to try to argue with him: Never argue with the woke; You can’t convince such stubborn folk. Perhaps we’ll better meet our goals Deciding not to feed the trolls!
Paul Freeman August 25, 2022 Do you really think I’m interested in your cut-and-past collections of …. whatever, or my first hand experiences and the evidence of my own eyes? The lunatics have truly taken over the asylum. This is why I’ve witnessed at least two traditional poets chased off this site, and probably why others post once and no more.
Mike Bryant August 25, 2022 Paul… no one ever said that free speech was easy. Some people just can’t bear hearing a different opinion.
Paul A Freeman August 26, 2022 “Some people just can’t bear hearing a different opinion.” Never a truer word, Mike. If only you could see the irony. Reply
Paul A Freeman August 26, 2022 Alternatively, Joshua – and if you bother to look, any arguments started here in the comments – but then truth is the first casualty. Never argue with the right; You cannot change their ingrained spite. And if you air a different view It’s tag team bully time for you.
Mike Bryant August 26, 2022 Bully? Did someone say something about irony? Don’t succumb to hate or spite. Let your heart be filled with song. When you argue with the right You are on the side of wrong.
Joshua C. Frank August 26, 2022 Actually (and this is so readers may see another opinion written), I’d like it if liberals made it a policy never to argue with us. Our lives would be a lot easier. I don’t know why they have to invade conservative groups like this; I’ve seen it happen over and over. What, they don’t have enough power over us in all our institutions (governments, corporations, churches, media, publishing houses, etc.)? They want to take this away from us too? “You will be assimilated… resistance is futile.”
Joshua C. Frank August 26, 2022 Hey Paul, one question: why do you go after Susan but not after Brian or me? Brian writes on many of the same topics, and some of my work is even more offensive to liberal beliefs. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I’m starting to feel a bit left out of the party. Is it because you have something personal against Susan? Maybe you treat her like this because she’s a woman?
Susan Jarvis Bryant August 25, 2022 Thank you very much, Dave. We’ve certainly gone downhill since a slice of cake was on the menu… Marie Antoinette was a clueless pussycat compared to Klaus. Reply
Martin Rizley August 25, 2022 Absolutely hilarious, Susan! I’m inclined to send a copy of this poem, along with a recipe for Caterpillars Rockefeller, to Klaus Schwab and his Davos cadre of Bond-like super villains who want to rule the world and dictate to the plebians the sort of “grub” we are permitted to eat. They’re welcome to consume all the poached roaches, maggot mush and leech cobbler their bug-loving hearts desire; I’ll stick with Angus burgers and pulled pork barbecue sandwiches, if you please– at least, for the foreseeable future. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant August 25, 2022 Martin, thank you for your highly entertaining and spot-on comment. I only hope “Klaus Schwab and his Davos cadre of Bond-like super villains” (great image) are chased off by those bold enough to take them on before bugs by the bucketload are the only thing left to eat! Enjoy those Angus burgers and pulled pork barbecue sandwiches while you still can… I’ll be doing the same here in Texas. Reply
Jeff Eardley August 25, 2022 Susan, what a dose of gut churning brilliance. I was reminded of the great Burl Ives song, “I know an old lady who swallowed a fly” with the spider that, “Wriggled and wiggled and tickled inside her.” As I feed my resident garden pheasant with his daily dose of mealworms, I reflect that he will one day be a fancy meal on a rich man’s plate, who may then keel over with thrombosis, and post-internment, be consumed by more worms and so the whole cycle continues. The only thing worse to eat are the Roman snacks of “Badger spleens, Otters noses and Wolf-nipple chips” as mentioned in, “The Life of Brian.” Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant August 25, 2022 Jeff, thank you for this highly amusing comment. I remember laughing at those “Badger spleens, Otters noses and Wolf-nipple chips”. Thank you for a reminder of the good old days of wacky entertainment. I fear I’m going to be laughing on the other side of my face soon. I have a vision that like your resident pheasant, my mealworm-stuffed spleen will be served up on a silver platter to the global gods… but that’s all locust pie in the sky. All the time I don’t identify as a pheasant, it isn’t happening. Reply
Mike Bryant August 25, 2022 Here’s a short video with Kees Aarts explaining some of the insect products his company, Protix, is making now. The short interview is taking place at Davos during the World Economic Forum. I wonder how many of the movers and shakers are investing in Mr. Aarts’ company; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FThTf94ifk8 Protix also provides insect powder for a cat food company that is made of black soldier fly larvae. It’s the Lovebug Pet Food company… poor cats… but we’re next. https://www.lovebugpetfood.com/pages/why-insect-based-cat-food Reply
Joshua C. Frank August 25, 2022 Susan, how do you do it? You can take any subject and write a great poem about it, complete with the best form for it. Keep up the good work! Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant August 26, 2022 Josh, I am blessed with poetry in my heart… I simply can’t help myself. I’m inspired by many forms and subjects and sometimes the form and the subject matter are a perfect fit… even if the topic is eating bugs. YUK! Reply
kate Farrell August 25, 2022 Susan, For some strange reason I just have to ask, how are things in Glocca Morra? Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant August 26, 2022 Kate, your comment has lifted me to music-filled spheres of nostalgia. Thank you! Reply
Norma Pain August 25, 2022 What an amazingly icky poem. You have done it again Susan. This impending bug-influenced diet will have a lot of educated people running a mile from all of the processed foods that have been slowly killing us one way or another, and which soon may contain (without our knowledge), these icky additions. This poem should go viral as an educational tool for what is coming down the pike. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant August 26, 2022 Thank you very much, Norma. People should be warned… the more the better. We need to stand arm in arm and shun the grub. We need to stand up for our farmers and our culture before it dwindles to distant memory and our children are on the road to serfdom. Reply
Phil S. Rogers August 25, 2022 Susan, just GREAT. I love this poem. My thoughts brilliantly expressed by your verse. Please keep it up Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant August 26, 2022 Thank you very, very much, Phil. I’m thrilled we think alike! There is sanity out there! 🙂 I will most certainly keep on keeping on. I simply have to. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant August 26, 2022 Dear Paul Freeman, It seems that the last few poems of mine you’ve commented on lead to you complaining that you’ve been bullied by the “tag team.” Instead of engaging in discussion, you hurl the insult of “conspiracy theorist,” play the victim, and hurl insults that inflame the situation, the latest being your knowledge of two people leaving because they’ve been chased off by “lunatics” who “have taken over the asylum”. Paul, as you are aware (the huge clue is in my closing couplet) this poem is about being forced to eat bugs in line with the green agenda. No one is mocking poor countries who are (sadly) forced to eat bugs. No one is mocking the well-travelled adventurous sorts for trying the local “delicacies” and no one is mocking you. Mike uses my comments page as a platform to get information that isn’t in the mainstream media out there so that people can make an informed decision instead of having to listen to the readily available propaganda. I know you don’t believe it is propaganda… for me it has been proven over and over, for you it hasn’t. We’ll leave it at that. Please don’t speak for others. Don’t accuse site members of running others off. I have done all in my power to encourage other writers with my poetry and my comments and hope I’ve been an inspiration. Dr. Salemi draws many people in with his poems, essays, and his discussions. I have learned much from him and so have many others. Mike is a great poet and moderator, going over and above his duties to keep the site running smoothly… a site that is ever growing not diminishing. If you find the message in my poems distasteful, please avoid them. Sincerely, Susan Reply
Paul Freeman August 28, 2022 Maybe you (and everyone else looking at this thread) should read my opening comment, Susan. Just as some snakes are venomous and some aren’t, some insects are edible and others aren’t. To be jumped on by the tag team for enlightening on the ‘Red meat good, insects bad!’ mantra, shows great intolerance and ignorance. As for being told to avoid poems I disagree with – which in this case I don’t disagree with since lice, silverfish and several other insects you mention are obviously inedible – I would not be able to let folks know there are some edible insects rated as highly as, say, prawns and Oysters some Western countries if I did this. Cue the well known discourse on the first person to ever eat an oyster. And cue … tag team! Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant August 28, 2022 Oh, so your opening comment by your own admission was to enlighten the clueless because you think my poem is a ‘red meat good insects bad mantra’. I will admit to missing that one. I was irked because you hurl insults but never enter into a sensible debate. The poem isn’t a ‘red meat good insects bad mantra’ as Dr. Salemi, Mike and I have pointed out and several commenters have noted. It’s a humorous protest against being forced under the policies of the WEF to eat insects while they are in the process of shutting down the farming industry globally. For pointing out the obvious as you have missed it big time, we have been insulted into the bargain. I’ll now add ‘intolerant’ and ‘ignorant’ to the list of: bully, tag team, conspiracy theorists, and lunatics taking over the asylum. It would seem to me your accusations of ‘intolerance’ and ‘ignorance’ are misplaced. To steal a quote from you: “If only you could see the irony”.
Mike Bryant August 28, 2022 Susan, it is obvious that Paul is an urbane, sophisticated world-traveler. His knowledge on almost every subject is so vast, it makes the rest of us seem like hillbillies or flat earthers by comparison. You have been properly mansplained.
Joshua C. Frank August 28, 2022 Paul, maybe you didn’t see my question in response to your initial comment, but I want an answer: “Hey Paul, one question: why do you go after Susan but not after Brian or me? Brian writes on many of the same topics, and some of my work is even more offensive to liberal beliefs. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I’m starting to feel a bit left out of the party. Is it because you have something personal against Susan? Maybe you treat her like this because she’s a woman?” If you refuse to answer, I (and most likely others) will treat your silence as a confirmation of your misogyny. Ironic, given how many liberals accuse conservatives of such… but given how many liberals are in favor of a new world order that tricks girls into getting themselves spayed like dogs and injected with testosterone, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.
Dave Hardesty August 26, 2022 Spider Sliders. I almost fell over laughing. Next time I go to an Oyster bar and they ak me what I want I’ll tell them ,”A fresh plate of Spider Sliders. I’m certain that will get a reaction. Thanks for your humor. Honestly, once you get past US cultural mentality, some bugs are pretty tastey. It just takes some getting use to. The eating of bugs is also discussed in the Bible and I’m pretty certain you know that. But your poem was very funny. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant August 27, 2022 Thank you very much, Dave. I abhor live spiders… the thought of chowing down on spider sliders sends chills. As for eating bugs, I’ve absolutely no problem with people doing whatever tickles their fancy… I just don’t want the WEF to forcefully reduce our menu to spider sliders and spider sliders alone. Our food already contains insects and the only way we know is if we bother to read the ingredients. If crickets have never been in our favorite chips before, why would we assume they’re in there now… they may be… please check if you don’t want bug parts to pass your lips. 😉 Reply
David Watt August 27, 2022 Susan, you effortlessly inject humour into even the most unpalatable of subjects! Although Australian aboriginals ate witchetty grubs and bogong moths, it was through choice, and they sensibly steered clear of crunchy chitin encased creatures. Perish the day when exceeding our carbon footprint limits our menu choices to hopper burgers and mealworm muffins. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant August 27, 2022 David, thank you very much for appreciating my strange humour, and more importantly, thank you for appreciating the message conveyed in this tasteless poem. I love your hopper burgers and mealworm muffins… in the linguistic sense only. If ever you offer me a real one, I will have to politely decline. Reply
Yael August 27, 2022 Thanks for such a fun read Susan, on a thoroughly disgusting topic! Your menu suggestions almost make eating bugs sound classy and appetizing. “Leech cobbler topped with lice ice cream…silverfish and chips,” – almost sounds delicious. As for me, no insect scale will pass my lips either, because I live by the dietary advice of God’s Word in the Bible, which serves me very well. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant August 28, 2022 Yael, it’s always lovely to read your comments and I am thrilled that my wriggly nibbles sound delicious. My poetry must be at its peak! Although, I’m glad you weren’t tempted to look up the recipes… the dietary advice of God’s Word in the Bible wins, thank goodness! Yael, thank you very much for the smile! Reply
Margaret Coats August 28, 2022 Susan, a most entertaining poem on the culinary potential of insects and worms. You well express the dismay many of us feel at the prospect. That includes vegetarians and vegans–whether their motive is non-violence toward animals or better health for themselves. Why these plans to introduce new sources of animal protein in the human diet? Isn’t plant-based food good enough? And don’t insects carry disease? Though worms contribute to agriculture by aerating the soil, they also transfer pathogens from beasts to humans. Not to mention varieties of worms that are themselves dangerous parasites in a human body. The gnat and fly plagues in Exodus precede livestock disease and human disease. The locust plague then destroys all plant sources of food. Can you imagine what might happen when entrepreneurs start cultivating insects and worms on a global scale, especially with gain-of-function research? Nouvelle cuisine could end up killing the planet along with us. Can Mike find any information on food-borne disease in grub-and-bug eating regions? I strongly suspect children (who sometimes eat dirt) might be especially susceptible. Reply
Mike Bryant August 29, 2022 Margaret, you are correct in assuming that insect farming carries significant risks to children. I have found a synopsis of studies that points out many, many concerns with this budding industry. https://straydoginstitute.org/black-soldier-flies-are-not-an-ideal-solution-for-global-food-waste/ I believe, after reading the article, that the main danger for people lies in the level of bureaucratic control that would be necessary to make this new rent-seeking industry a frightening reality. Think about what these rent-seekers have done to the earth’s energy production and the high energy costs that are now driving many into serfdom… all to transfer wealth from the poorest of the world into the ever-increasing ranks of the politically connected billionaires. This is just one more ploy pushed by WEF and its minions to centralize every decision. We know how central planning works. Imagine central planning driven by Artificial Intelligence… an AI programmed by the starry-eyed, would-be rulers of the brave, new, godless utopia. Reply
Lannie David Brockstein August 29, 2022 It is concerning that here in Canada, the federal government has funded an insect factory farm in London, Ontario. What might happen to Ontario’s crops, and those of its neighbouring provincial and state jurisdictions, if G-d forbid there is an insect leak at that factory farm—the same way it allegedly happened there was a virus leak at the virus factory farm, I mean virology lab, in Wuhan, China? Is a man-made famine part of “The Great Regret”, I mean “The Great Reset”? One of the easiest ways for the government to stop society’s gluttonous consumption of factory farmed meat products is for it to be transparent about how inhumanely factory farmed animals are treated. The Cartesian opinion that animals do not suffer when treated inhumanely is an extremely idiotic opinion. Only a moral retard would stubbornly perceive animals as “automata”, and thus as having no more sensitivity to pain than a mechanical clock or other kind of robot. Unlike microorganisms and plants, and like humans and animals, it is a scientific fact that insects have pain receptors. One of the reasons that insects are not kosher is because like giant sea-bugs, I mean shellfish, they cannot be slaughtered in a humane way, unlike cows, chickens, and fish with scales. Classical farming methods, which in today’s day and age are called “organic”, grow the soil, unlike Big Pharma’s modern farming methods that erode the soil thereby releasing more megatons of GHGEs into the atmosphere than does the automobile industry. It would be much better for the general public to significantly decrease its bad habit of food wastage, than for the government to subsidize inhumane insect factory farms that might eventually cause a famine of biblical proportions. Organic meat farms where the livestock is treated humanely can sustain the population, but not when there is an obscene amount of food being wasted by restaurants, supermarkets, and at the dinner table. Reply
