Edible: An Adventure into the World of Eating Insects and the Last Great Hope to Save the Planet

Entomophagist Martin champions bug-eating in this engaging though sometimes over-the-top volume. Having spent the past 10 years studying insects, Martin concludes that "we should all be eating bugs%E2%80%94as our ancestors did, as our global neighbors do, as our primate cousins do, and as we ourselves do constantly, by accident, without realizing it." She considers them alternatives to beef and pork, for example. Their environmental impact is comparatively small, requiring "little to no deboning, gutting, plucking, or butchering." Crickets, grasshoppers, ants and certain caterpillars also contain large amounts of calcium. With that said, however, Martin might still have difficulty convincing readers to actually eat these tiny critters. For those willing to entertain the idea of a bug banquet, Martin concludes the book with earnest recipes for items such as "Salty-Sweet Wax Worms," "Crickety Kale Salad," and "Sweet-n-Spicy Summer June Bugs." Many may still find themselves squirming at the idea of slugs in a salad as the author never fully sells the reader on the taste or visual factor. (Feb.)