TOKYO, June 16 (Prensa Latina) A new vending machine selling edible insects today has attracted the attention of residents in Takamori, Nagano Prefecture, Japan.
The device sells crickets, grasshoppers, silk moths, water bugs and gengorou beetles 24 hours a day, the NHK news network reported.
Guests can buy fried, roasted and flavored dishes with salt, chocolate or other unusual flavors at moderate prices, considering the exclusivity of the product.
The initiative belongs to Asami Osawa, 34, from Japan, who is dedicated to marketing edible insects on the Internet and promoting this type of protein-rich diet.
Osawa told the Japanese media outlet that the people of Nagano have a culture of entomophagy and hope people would enjoy their special offering.
Human ingestion of insects is an ancient practice that archaeological and anthropological evidence has shown was important to the survival of hominid ancestors. However, these invertebrates are considered by experts to be the food of the future.
A report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) revealed that insects make up the traditional diet of at least two billion people.
He also pointed out that collecting and breeding can create jobs and monetary income, especially at the family level.
The 2013 study, conducted between the FAO and the Dutch University of Wageningen, found that in addition to protein, many insects are high in good fats and high in calcium, iron and zinc.
In comparison, the iron in 100 grams of lobster (a species of grasshopper) exceeds between 2 and 14 times that in 100 grams of beef, according to the detailed text.
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