Pupils jump at chance to eat crickets as school serves greener grub
PUPILS who turn up their noses at the lumpy gravy and soggy roly-poly served in their canteens may find it hard to stomach the lunch menu on offer at one of the UK’S leading private girls’ schools.
Environmentally aware students at North London Collegiate School can choose worms, crickets and grasshoppers from a green trial menu.
The school, which charges fees of £20,000 per year, is testing dishes such as Chinese-style noodles with teriyaki grasshopper and Mexican rice topped with buffalo worms as it attempts to persuade pupils to eat sustainably.
The trial menu, which also includes “sweet chilli and lime crickets” and has been backed by pupils, will be offered for a few weeks but could be rolled out permanently if it is popular.
The school, which counts as alumnae Dame Esther Rantzen – who asked London Zoo if it would let a cockroach crawl on her face when preparing for the bug-eating challenge on I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here – actress Rachel Weisz and This Morning presenter Alice Beer, serves predominantly meat-free meals. Every form also has an eco-rep to monitor pupils’ ideas on how school life could be made greener.
The school is also a founding member of the London School Eco Network, which collaborates on national green initiatives, such as the Youth Climate Summit. As exam season approaches, healthier desserts, such as chocolate brownies made with beetroot, courgette cake with lemon drizzle and energy balls made from oats and raisins, have been put on its lunch menu.
Guy Kaye, the school’s general manager for catering, said: “We’re dedicated to driving sustainability, without compromising the satisfaction of the pupils we serve.
“The girls have been a driving force behind the change and are really open to trying new things that are better for the world, even if that includes edible insects that are very common in other parts of the word and a sustainable source of fibre.”
Farming insects causes far fewer greenhouse gas emissions than traditional meat farming, with insect farms emitting 75 per cent less carbon than poultry farms.
Insects are also eaten widely across the world, with many countries, such as Korea, Tanzania and Mexico considering them a delicacy.
Alice Beer, told The Telegraph: “I’m sure North Londoners will make dietary decisions that balance their ethical, moral and sustainable beliefs.
“I personally wouldn’t flinch at eating anything on that menu. I’d probably rather eat insects than cows. It’s the catering staff that might have to adapt though.
“In my day the one or two vegetarians in the year were treated with slight bewilderment by [them].”