What’s for dinner? Try mealworms, not beef

Help fight global warming — eat worms.

Two scientists at Wageningen University in the Netherlands are touting the benefits of substituting mealworms for the conventional animal proteins in your diet such as chicken, beef and dairy products.

Writing last week in PLoS ONE, Dennis Oonincx and Imke de Boer suggested that shifting global diets from the typical livestock to lower-impact animal species could be beneficial.

The cultivation of livestock uses 70 percent of agricultural land and is responsible for 15 percent of greenhouse gas emissions from human activity.

The researchers had to consider every detail of how mealworms are farmed, including the larvae’s diet.

They assessed the environmental effect of the cardboard egg cartons employed in the production process. They counted how much energy was needed to keep the mealworm housed at the right temperature.

Oonincx and de Boer determined that global warming potential of producing 1 kilogram of worms was 2.7 kilograms of CO2 equivalents — significantly lower than milk, chicken, pork and especially beef. Land use, too, was very low compared with the more traditional fare.

“This study clearly shows that mealworm should be considered as a more sustainable alternative to milk, chicken, pork and beef,” the co-authors concluded.

Of course, there’s one major roadblock: persuading people to chow down on the critters.

In the Far East, some do eat mealworms, but in the U.S., they’re primarily doomed to an ignoble end as fish bait and animal feed.

A few intrepid chefs are working to elevate the cuisine, though. At www.insectsarefood.com, one can learn how to make mealworm French fries and banana worm bread.

Recipes for mealworm cookies and hot mealworm appetizers are available. This website and this website also offer tips on mealworm cuisine.