USE THIS: How Eating Bugs Can Save The World
When you're lucky, tournament hosts have a bevvy of delicious meal-time options available for your snacking. Ooey, gooey hot pizza, ice-cold drinks, maybe there's a Subway (or, GASP! a Coldstone Creamery) within walking distance of competition. Happy bellies beget happy competitors.
Or, maybe there's a vending machine that isn't broken and you can cram down 2-3 peanut butter crackers by a water fountain before Extemp prep begins. You're hungry for success, after all. This feeling is nothing new.
However, Slate's Josh Schonwald proposes a couple of culinary items that may make the tournament vending machines more palatable in comparison. His proposal? Removing the "ick-factor" from eating insects and seaweed.
He states, "This prejudice against eating insects—four-fifths of all known organisms on earth—is slowly starting to change. A growing number of people are beginning to recognize that bugs...may be the ultimate sustainable protein source." And while some people may embrace the abundant and nutrient-rich kelp, others are more than happy to leave it in Spongebob's backyard. He discusses not only the dietary and environmental benefits that adding insects and kelp may have, but reminds us that the other parts of the world aren't as reluctant as Americans to add small amounts of insects to their daily diet.
By this point, some of you reading may be shaking your head and channeling Amy Winehouse with an emphatic, "No, no, no." That's okay. Despite some of the more creative challenges in reality competition, the idea of is still extreme to most Americans.
The article can still be incredibly useful for speakers. Use it as an example to discuss differences between cultures, or the creative ways in which people are discussing global sustainability. He introduces the article with a neat bit of history surrounding the lobster. Though it is considered a delicacy today, lobster was once considered disgusting and unfit to feed to prisoners more than once a week. Truly, it's an example of how time changes the opinions we hold.
Speaking of which, did you know that October 14th is National Chocolate-Covered Insect Day? So if someone hands you some candy that day, just be sure to double check the ingredients.