© Felix Clay for the Guardian‘Even in London, edible insects are seen as nothing more than a gimmick and there are only a handful of restaurants serving them up.’
The thought of rising sea levels and more intense heatwaves are enough to keep you up at night. But while we all know the situation is getting more serious, most of us are preoccupied with work, doctor's appointments and paying bills - and these immediate, visceral worries win every time.
There isn't much time left to figure out how to bring global warming closer to the forefront of people's minds and persuade us to reduce our carbon footprints. In fact, we have just 12 years left to keep global warming to 1.5C, according to last week's landmark UN report. Anything beyond this will massively worsen the risks of drought, floods, extreme heat and poverty for hundreds of millions of people.
Reducing our meat intake is crucial to avoiding climate breakdown, since food production accounts for about a quarter of all human-related greenhouse gas emissions, and is predicted to rise. In western countries, this means eating 90% less beef and five times as many beans and pulses.
Comment: When one recognizes that the push for insect eating, as with veganism, is all predicated on the BS notion that eating meat is uncompromisingly bad for the environment, all reason for engaging in it, other than a sense of curiosity or overcoming the ick factor, completely disappears. Despite the fact that much of the population seems to be rather easily programmed via ideology, it's likely the insect farmer start-ups are in for a rather crushing disappointment on this one.
See also:
Comment: See also: FDA approves psilocybin for treating depression