QUARTZ OBSESSION PODCAST

Edible bugs: The original superfood

Edible bugs: The original superfood
Image: Eric Helgas, styling by Alex Citrin-Safadi
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Between lab-grown meat and veganism going mainstream, we’re in an age of abundance for alternative protein options. But one hasn’t been getting as much attention as the others: Edible insects, popular in places like Ghana and Mexico, are nutritious, plentiful, and much less damaging to the environment than, say, a steak. What would it take to put insects in more kitchens around the world?

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Featuring

Kira Bindrim is the host of the Quartz Obsession podcast. She is an executive editor who works on global newsroom coverage and email products. She is obsessed with reading and reality TV.

Ananya Bhattacharya is a reporter on the Quartz India team. She is obsessed with dancing, watching home makeover shows, and writing unfinished poetry in her Notes app.


Read the full transcript here.


Show notes

Bugvita’s Sriracha-roasted crickets

Zac Efron eats bugs on the George Lopez show, 2010

Shailene Woodley says she eats ants, 2020

Nicole Kidman eating bugs, 2018

Angelina Jolie’s kids eat bugs as snacks, 2017

Bastar tribe of Chhattisgarh, India

Gordon Ramsay tries red ant Chutney, 2010

Muji’s cricket crackers are constantly sold out, 2020

Avinandan Kundu, chef

This episode uses the following sounds from freesound.org:

OBJMisc_open_aluminum_lid_of_yogurt_cup_Olympus_LS-P4.wav by common_hamster

nut crunch chomp by spanrucker

Crickets_04.wav by RSilveira_88

Grasshopper Singing by zouliangqaz

Crickets Loop by everythingsounds