European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 24, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tasty termites Buffet by William Mccall associated press Foo what has a nutty flavor and looks like Brown scrambled eggs Bakuti. That s nepalese for squished honeybees. What looks like ridged French Fries Only with eyes and legs and tastes great deep Fried Bamboo Worms. Yuk you say How about a Nice helping of Honey instead sorry to disappoint you but it s really Bee Barf. Of so maybe you can Deal with the truth about Honey. But that a not All. Most americans Don t realize they re already eating a Pound or two of insects every year. You just can t see them because they re ground up into Liny Little chunks in your Strawberry Jam Peanut butter Spaghetti sauce applesauce and Frozen chopped Broccoli. The insect parts even add to the protein making some products More nutritious said. Michael Burgett an entomologist at Oregon state University in Corvallis he estimates every acre of land in Oregon contains about 100 pounds of j insect protein. In tropical areas it s about 400 pounds. Burgett bemoans the fact that most of the protein is going to waste. Except for. That extra touch of tartness in the Jam on your English Muff in of course. The . Food and drug administration says there is no Way to eliminate All bugs from our food so it sets what Are called a defect action Levels Quot to control the amount of insect parts rodent hairs holds and other tiny particles that pose no health Hazard. A essentially the Fra is saying you can Only have enough bugs so you can t see them Quot Burgett said. Quot we have an innate Bias against insects i blame on our european heritage. For our culture insects arc outside the realm of food. The glaring exception is Honey which is Bee vomit essentially. It s a Plant product mediated by an  Burgett is an internationally recognized authority on bees. He respects bees. He is fascinated with their behaviour. And he said they make delicious cookies. Quot a Pound of bees is about 3,500 bees. You put them in the oven at Low heat for eight hours then grind or blend the dry husks into flour. Makes great cookies. About half my students ate the cookies the first year i made them most of them said they did no to taste any different. So i cheated the second year and put in a grape nuts to make them  but if you really want Crunchy the giant Waterburg is the appetizer of Choice. Roasted and eaten whole it s a favorite in Asia said Burgett who s sampled a variety of insect fare a you la find that asian cultures have incorporated insects in their diets for a Long time. One of the most popular insects in Asia is the giant Waterburg which is like a big cockroach. Its easily collected around lights at night especially around  in Thailand you can judge a restaurant by the bugs on the menu. American Consumers Are so finicky about bugs they la never eat them Burgett said. At least they wont Quot mass consume Quot them in the numbers needed to make Bug ranching a solid commercial Success. Quot they be talked about using termites in the Northwest. Highly nutritious with High protein Content per body weight. But who a going to eat them Quot Bee keepers in Western Canada kill their bees in the fall because its too expensive to keep them through the Winter they restock from Southern California in the Spring but All those Bee pupae Are going to waste. The major hurdle again is who wants to eat it there is a gourmet Market in Japan for the male pupae of the Honeybee but that Market is . If people wont eat cooked bugs no matter How tasty and nutritious at least they could tolerate More bugs in what they do eat Burgett said. If the Fra would relax the limit for insect. Parts say double it . Farmers could significantly reduce the amount of pesticides sprayed every year. Quot snap Beans Are a perfect example. The 12-spotted Cucumber Beetle takes tiny Little bites out of the Beans. It does no to harm the bean but Consumers want perfection. So the growers Spray the Beans to rid them of beetles and bite Marks. When growers drive up to the food processing Plant people Sample the Beans and bite Marks and if the ratio is too High the company will Tell the grower a Well have to process this Batch differently a so the growers make less Money Quot Farmers Are spraying less because pesticide costs Are rising and alternate Post management strategies Are working Burgett said. Much of the spraying that remains is for appearance and that won t change until Consumers Stop being so squeamish about bugs he said. Quot if you say a i Don t want any bugs in my food and i Don t want any insecticide residue then Well All starve Quot Burgett said. Quot i d rather eat More insects and less pesticide residue Quot he said. Will Consumers agree Burgett is a Pessimist. A a consumer acceptance is a big problem fifty years ago it would t matter if an Apple had a Moth larva inside,.or if the bean had a Beetle bite. Are these people shopping for flawless apples wilting to pay the Price for less insecticides71 think riot Quot but he has advice for environmentalists and Consumers who want to reduce the pesticides in our food Quot Bug the co. Or nov f. Quot no appetite for bugs then How about a worm Sandwich Wayne Fauser of. Adelaide Australia who owns a worm far says they re a Good source of protein. And despite his facial expression he claims they taste great too. Al1 facts do Jour now for something different. Percent of american adults who have eaten Hose unusual foods. Snake truffles an edible fungi sushi cold cooked Rice wild a a such garnishes As raw lir in Tofu set cake of soybean Mote no snails tripe v it a. St Nasf octopus St squid a Soi a i r of s  a 21�, o 4 a a 2g� a f ii i n Quot a a. A a Ati r i i Yam Friday August 24. 1990 the stars and stripes Irir if Page 13 f