Beetles for Breakfast?

When I was in college I travelled to South Korea to stay with a good friend and her family who lived in Seoul.  During my visit they introduced me to many of the local traditions, including many cuisine and food-related customs. Imagine my never-been-out-of-the-U.S.-before surprise when one of their favorite delicacies was silk worms! What!? I marveled at the women cooking these worms in pots on fire pits outside at a traditional Korean festival.

Although exotic to me, many cultures regularly consume "insects" as protein sources.  An estimated 2.5 billion people regularly consume insects. The United Kingdom is considering adding insect protein to its food supply. The basic reason to include insects in the diet is to provide a non-animal protein source. Read more about it in Insect and food pyramids could help reduce meat consumption , which sourced info from a new article in the journal Appetite called, "Can we cut out the meat of the dish? Constructing consumer-oriented pathways towards meat substitution."

Are you trying to reduce your meat consumption? If so, here are ways that Dining can help you with that goal:

• try Meatless Monday dishes at the grill every Monday at all 5 residential restaurants
• visit Roots, the all-vegan restaurant on Muir College
• choose the vegetarian or vegan options available daily; check Dining's site for the green VT label (vegetarian) or blue VG label (vegan)
• utilize the salad bar
• order a vegetarian sandwich at the deli
• who says you have to have an entree? try a meal of 3 vegetarian "sides" such as the vegetarian soup, a spinach leaf salad with garbanzo beans and tomatoes, and a yogurt
• choose veggie options at a Place & Market
• no, Dining is NOT serving bugs!

Happy Meatless Monday!