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Truth be told, that crickets are amazing...
One of the most convincing reasons as to why people should consider including crickets in their diet is from the health point of view. The western world is gradually accepting this as a fact and moving away from the dogma that used to surround these insects. There are several health benefits of crickets which we will only mention a few. Crickets generally have a very high concentration of vitamins, proteins, beneficial fats, all the essential amino acids and minerals.
As an example, plant sources do not have vitamin B12 and many vegans and vegetarians end up having a deficiency but on the other hand crickets are a great source. Most of the time crickets are consumed whole without removing the exoskeleton, muscle tissues and other vital organs which is unlike the conventional meat. Furthermore crickets are cold blooded which means that they have an increased efficiency at converting food product into protein. In order to produce a similar amount of protein, crickets will need 12 times less food than cattle, and only half that amount than chicken or pork.
Studies have also shown that crickets produce significantly less CO2 and ammonia as compared to other protein supplements like chicken, pork or even cattle. This is because of their short lifespan, meaning they require fewer resources. 80% of a cricket is edible and easy to digest because they require less feed as compared to other livestock. Crickets also require less water making them easy to nature.
Crickets are categorized further down in the food chain as compared to other livestock; therefore they do not have animal welfare issues associated with them. This could be a good argument to encourage vegetarians and vegans to consume them and also for the fact that they contain a high amount of vitamin B12 which is not available from plant sources.
Another great health benefit derived from crickets is the fact that diseases cannot be spread through them. Diseases like H5N1, foot and mouth, bovine spongiform, avian flu can easily be transmitted through consumption of other livestock products like cattle, chicken and pork. This is because crickets are different in their taxonomy as compared to the bigger animal. Though not much research has been done in this area, it is still a great advantage as a supplement.
Rearing of crickets is also very easy and efficient as there is no need of using antibiotics, GMO’s, pesticides or hormones. This reduces the high risk of these harmful products being transmitted to the human body. The excessive use of antibiotics leads to growth of bacteria which is harmful to the human body. So in conclusion, the health benefits of crickets greatly outweigh that of other livestock and their consumption should be encouraged.
In addition to our great cricket selection, we also offer mealworms and composting worms at very great prices.
I’m purchasing pinheads today, wondering if there’s any truth to the rumor that crickets & live mealworms can injure young chicks. We’ve over 25 chickens and 4 different aged babies with mamas. Would love to feed to the week-old (by the time pinheads arrive) chicks this.