Insects as Food
You probably think that you would never eat an insect, even if you were starving. Insects are ugly and disgusting, right? But chances are you do eat them, or at least you use products that come from insects. Beeswax, for example, is used in lip balms. Honeycomb is sold in most American supermarkets.
Around the world, insects have long been an important food source. Insects were once a major food for Australian aborigines. In some countries, grasshoppers and large palm weevil grubs are still eaten. In South Africa, some people snack on roasted termites as if they were popcorn. In the Sinai Desert, some people eat the dry, scaly parts of certain bugs. In Mexico, a popular cake is made with the eggs of a water insect. In the United States, chocolate-covered ants are a delicacy sold in many food stores.
Which statement best sums up the author’s viewpoint?
1) Insects are unfairly rejected as a food source.
2) Insects are better than most foods.
3) Insects have no place in a modern diet.
4) Insects are the food of the future.