A large contributor to climate change is the beef industry, but that doesn't seem likely to change in the near future. Unless, of course, we switch to eating mealworms.
The idea might not be as crazy as it sounds. Mealworms have as much protein as beef without anywhere near the environmental footprint of the beef industry. Not only that, but consumers can grow mealworms with a small hive called the Edible Insect Desktop Hive made by Livin Farms.
"Livestock is a key factor for climate change," said Katharina Unger, an Austrian designer and founder of Livin Farms, in an interview with Fast Co.Exist. "A large percentage of our diseases originate in animal production houses. Growing your own means knowing exactly what you eat."
Many people don't realize simply how bad the beef industry is for the environment. In fact, the production of one burger has a carbon footprint equal to a whopping 320-mile drive and consumes gallons and gallons of water. Creating mealworms, however, can be done with kitchen scraps; it takes up a lot less resources and a lot less space.
The Edible Insect Desktop Hive can grow enough mealworms to create several meals per week, with 200 to 500 grams of mealworms being produced weekly. The hive will come with a kit of starter "microlivestock," and the climate inside is controlled so that the bugs have enough air and are in the right temperature. Once the mealworms are grown, they can be put into the freezer then fried up, mixed into a soup, or used for other things.
All that is great, but whether people are actually willing to eat them is another matter entirely. Despite this issue, Unger says that hundreds of preorders for the Edible Insect Desktop Hive have been made, and a Kickstarter campaign will be started in the near future.
Via: Fast Coexist
