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A recent study showed that the design of a utensil can alter a diners perception of taste. Yogurt eaten from a plastic spoon tastes more decadent and cheese tastes saltier when served on a knife, but can good design make eating grasshoppers palatable?
Designer Mansour Ourasanah thinks so and has created a product concept called Lepsis, which looks like a large, stylish food dehydrator that just happens to cultivate and kill grasshoppers for human consumption.
>'As a child, eating insects was an integral part of our diet.'
Ourasanah lives in San Francisco but spent the first 16 years of his life in the African nation Togo, and this project is close to his heart—or, more accurately—stomach. "As a Togolese child, eating insects was an integral part of our diet during rainy seasons," he says. "I remember my siblings and I collecting dead flying termites every morning after they had been zapped by fluorescent light bulbs. Insects were a great source of protein, so on days when we didn't have enough to eat at home, scavenging for grasshoppers and crickets was a strategy we could always rely on, and nature never failed to deliver."
While this seems dire by modern western standards, it could become the new normal. The UN estimates that by 2050, there will be nine billion people on Earth, and due to the industrialization of developing countries, the food system will need to double in capacity. Farming already uses up half of the earth's habitable landmass, the majority dedicated to livestock, making linear expansion impossible. Current levels of livestock cultivation produce more greenhouse gasses than driving cars, making expansion perilous.
It may seem nasty, but eating bugs — all 1,400 edible species—may be in our future. People need protein, and eating insects, however gross, is far more efficient and sustainable than herding cattle. "We need to re-evaluate the paradigm of food and how it is produced," says Ourasanah. "We need to find new ways of growing food and do away with our preconceived notions of what food actually is."
>While this seems dire to our tastes, it could become the new normal.
The first step in making entomophagy epicurean is to choose a species of insect to serve. During his childhood in Africa, Ourasanah became a connoisseur of creepy-crawlies. Grasshoppers, locusts and winged termites were the best options. Bees, spiders and scorpions were avoided until "you are really, really, really hungry," says Ourasanah. Dung beetles were to be avoided at all costs because, well, poop. Ourasanah started with grasshoppers since he was familiar with their rapid reproductive habits and they passed the palatability test with his classmates.
Next, he had to determine his method of preparation. He decided against an early concept that would grind the insects into a powder that could be used to make pest-filled protein shakes because it would disconnect people from the reality of what they're eating. "I wanted it to say, 'no more lies; this is food.'" he says.
He decided the grasshoppers would be served whole and got to work designing a more refined version of the traps he built in Africa to breed them in mass quantities. The result is comprised of four modules: a temperature controlled acrylic nest where the grasshoppers live, a feeder cap which provides food, a harvesting cap which collects the full grown grasshoppers, and a small light that lures them into the harvester. Once a month the grasshoppers are harvested and frozen to kill them while eggs start hatching in the nest, beginning the process anew.
In addition to the functional aspects of the unit, Ourasanah also focused a great deal of effort refining the aesthetics of the components. For instance, the green lattice within the nest gives the device a futuristic feel, but also keeps the grasshoppers off the acrylic walls and keeps the unit clean.
"I don't think a product can change people's palette per se," says Ourasanah. "I envisioned Lepsis as a beautiful object you would want to display in your kitchen, and in so doing Lepsis becomes a conversation starter that has your entire family and friends chatting about the way we produce and consume meat, our role in the fate of the planet, and the viability of entomophagy as a potential solution."
While biting the head off a cricket may seem unappetizing now, the same was once true of oysters, shrimp, and even sushi. James Beard Award-winning chefs are beginning to incorporate insects into their cuisine, and grasshoppers are a popular street food in many countries across the globe. Mansour says the response from food and sustainability enthusiasts has been encouraging, and with a little time, Lepsis could be just the tool to help people see insects as treats instead of pests that need to be exterminated.
