Are Crunchy Caterpillars the Food of the Future?
CrowdScience
BBC
4.8 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 19 January 2018
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Meet the entrepreneurs turning bugs into food and get top tips on how to cook them. In this week’s episode we return to the topic of edible insects and the story of Kahitouo Hein’s caterpillar factory in Burkina Faso, West Africa. Kahitouo is trying to turn a traditional food like the shea caterpillar, available for just a few weeks a year, into a year-long sustainable staple for the whole population.
We also put your questions about edible insects directly to the researchers in Burkino Faso. Discover the best way to cook a bug, explore the curious effects of hornet venom and find out whether eating insects is better for the environment then eating red meat.
Do you have a question we can turn into a programme? Email us at crowdscience@bbc.co.uk
Presenter: Anand Jagatia Producer: Louisa Field
(Photo: Worker at Kahit’s factory cooking caterpillars)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Take some time for yourself with soothing classical music from the mindful mix, the Science of |
| 0:07.0 | Happiness Podcast. |
| 0:08.0 | For the last 20 years I've dedicated my career to exploring the science of living a happier more meaningful life and I want |
| 0:14.4 | to share that science with you. |
| 0:16.1 | And just one thing, deep calm with Michael Mosley. |
| 0:19.4 | I want to help you tap in to your hidden relaxation response system and open the door to that |
| 0:25.4 | calmer place within. Listen on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:30.3 | A lot of people when they hear about my business, they start laughing. |
| 0:37.0 | They say, yeah. |
| 0:39.0 | Especially if they know that I have a master degree and you are doing business like selling caterpillars. |
| 0:45.0 | They say, oh, this must be a crazy guy. |
| 0:49.0 | And I say, yeah. |
| 0:50.0 | Cahitien is an entrepreneur from Bekina Faso in West Africa who went against everyone's advice |
| 0:58.8 | and started a business selling caterpillars for food. This is crowd science from the BBC World Service. |
| 1:07.0 | When I talk about farming caterpillars, for those who are scientists who are able to understand how useful it's going to be, |
| 1:16.0 | they are happy with the idea, they support, but for those who don't know anything about |
| 1:22.0 | insect farming, they think that will never happen. |
| 1:27.0 | Bikini Fazzo is one of the poorest countries in the world, and a place where malnutrition affects many parts of the population |
| 1:35.2 | but Cahit wants all that to change. |
| 1:42.0 | Here on Crowds Science we tackle your questions on life, earth and the universe. |
| 1:47.0 | I'm Anan Jagatier. |
| 1:49.0 | And if you're an avid listener, you might recognize Cahit's story because in this episode we're |
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