#头条创作挑战赛 #
Insect diet is at least quite popular, after all, their means of obtaining is simpler, and many times do not need to be farmed, it is a business that only takes time and cost, even if it is large-scale farming, the cost of breeding insects is quite low, but many people naturally reject insects, resulting in this diet can not be promoted at all.
However, the diet of eating insects does not seem to be unusual, although we go to any night market, we can see many people selling fried insects, and it is particularly expensive. For us, insects make food more as a fun dish, but for some countries in Africa, the insect diet may have to be used as a staple food.
A £50,000 British aid project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is adding African caterpillars, migratory locusts and black waterflies to people's menus.
Congo's insects
The idea was first experimented in the provinces of North and South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for a period of March-December 2022. The area is quite poor, but it is already good in the Congo, because although the local animal husbandry is not developed, it is good to be good, but the local population is growing too fast, the animal husbandry industry cannot support so many people, and it also costs water resources to raise livestock.
23 species of insects have been identified as edible and will be collected according to the seasons, and it is not currently planned to attempt farming. These include the African palm weevil, garbage beetle, termites and crickets, which are commonly found locally. My scalp tingles as I listen.
Funded by the Catholic Overseas Development Agency, a charity in England and Wales, the campaign has been controversial since its inception, with many feeling that they are demanding that the poor in Africa eat insects in a condescending manner to satisfy their "desire to be strong".
The group was aggrieved, saying: "It is completely wrong to claim that the program encourages people to eat insects, and we prefer that these insects can be raised locally as a supplement to nutrition rather than as a staple food, and later we hope to encourage the raising of insects as feed similar to farmed fish." ”
Insects in Zimbabwe
While the project in Congo is in progress, Zimbabwe is also working on another development project. They use cola bean worms in the porridge they provide at school to provide higher nutrition to children, and the benefits of this porridge are rich in important vitamins and minerals. Zimbabwe relies heavily on corn, and their daily diet is severely deficient in essential minerals, amino acids and fatty acids. The worm is common in rural Zimbabwe and will be eaten before the project begins.
The aid scheme, which will be funded by £300,000, is planned by implementers to feed poor children aged 7 to 11 in the southern town of Guanda and the capital, Harare. This is only the first phase of the project, and they will conduct a randomized controlled trial to see if children who eat breakfast do better at school and if their weight becomes healthier.
postscript
Entomologist Dr. Sarah Bennon believes that aid projects to promote the consumption of insects are "a reliable way to save lives and improve the nutrition of the poorest people on the planet", and she also believes that people in developed countries should be encouraged to include insects in their diets.
It can be seen that she is indeed a more idealistic person with lofty ideals.
But if the program does help Africans get a little out of their hunger, the data and experience gained can indeed benefit citizens around the world, regardless of their economic situation.