Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, April 2, 1990                   TAG: 9003310286
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: E-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CORVALLIS, ORE.                                LENGTH: Medium

BUGS: YOU DON'T HAVE TO LIKE 'EM TO EAT 'EM

Your gut reaction may be one of nausea. But the truth is, says an Oregon State University entomologist, they're not bad for you. Dried caterpillar larvae, for example, have more protein than an equal amount of dried beef.

Associate Professor Michael Burgett says bits and pieces of insects are unavoidable in such staples as peanut butter, potatoes and tomato juice. So since we eat insects anyway, we should give up our demands for perfect produce, which would end heavy use of chemicals and pesticides. Besides, he says, a steaming plate of bamboo worm larvae is considered a delicacy in some parts of the world.

Burgett illustrates his point to his students. Falling back on culinary secrets he learned while doing research around the world, he whips up some tasty dishes - and encourages the students to try them.

"There's always a lot of interest in my insect dishes," Burgett says. "They look, smell and taste good. But I can't really say I've made a lot of dietary converts."

In many countries, insects are common food staples. Burgett says many native cultures in South America include insects in their diets, as do hunter-gatherer societies, such as the Australian aborigines.

Eskimos eat head lice during mutual grooming rituals, he says, and some American Indian tribes of the western United States had native dishes of fly pupae.

"But we're not talking about an appetite for insects only in the distant past or among remote South American tribes," Burgett says. "In some modern, more developed nations such as Thailand, virtually everyone eats some type of insects. You buy them in the supermarket like milk and eggs."

While doing research in Thailand, Burgett sampled some unusual fare. A giant waterbug - two inches long, one inch tall and roasted - is a local favorite. The larvae and pupae of ants also add zest to an omelette.

A fine restaurant in Bangkok might offer insect dishes in season, Burgett says, just as a good American eatery would offer shad roe in early Spring or fresh strawberry shortcake in June. And, according to him, the country's thriving silk industry offers a fringe benefit for connoisseurs - silkworm pupae "taste great and are quite nutritious."

If you're interested in trying some insect dishes, Burgett says, just gather a bunch of your favorite bugs - ants, grasshoppers, whatever - dry them in a warm oven, grind them in a blender and use them as a flour substitute for almost any recipe, especially cookies.

Burgett's favorite recipe for his student banquets is bakuti, delicacy of Nepal.

"Bakuti is based on the larvae and pupae in a honeybee comb," Burgett says. "It's full of protein and sort of looks like a scrambled egg when it's done.

To appease the American palate, Burgett mixes the bakuti with cream cheese and serves it on a Triscuit.

The motivation for the special menu and his lectures on dietary insects in quite serious: Americans need to accept the fact that their food is grown in a real world full of very real bugs. And, Burgett says, our insistence on pristine products can exact a high environmental price.