Political Quotes

“Madam President, who wants to eat bugs for lunch? I am hearing crickets, even among the pages here. Now, there is a reason for that, but the National Institute of Food and Agriculture at the USDA is spending more than $1.3 million to support cricket farming in the development of bug-based foods for human consumption. This sounds like a headline straight out of The Onion, but it is not. It is your hard-earned taxpayer dollars being used to try to develop a taste for crickets and other bugs. This initiative is trying to determine which bugs taste best, which bugs are most nutritious, and the best methods for farming bigger, tastier crickets. Now, while the USDA has no plans to inspect cricket farms and the FDA has ``no special rules for edible insects'' at this time, multiple bug- based companies have received Federal funds to research and develop techniques to put bugs in your food. For example, Bugeater Labs--I am not joking here--Bugeater Labs of Nebraska has received $100,000 of taxpayer money--this is a grant--to identify the most edible insects. With support from the USDA, Bugeater is testing bug-based pasta, ramen, and macaroni noodles. Now, to get bugs into the food, the crickets are ground into a powder and mixed into pasta dough. Bugeater hopes to secure another $600,000 in Federal funds to cover the cost of developing and manufacturing a commercial-ready product made from bugs. Now, separately, All Things Bugs of Georgia--I am not kidding.…”