MAKING MEALS OUT OF MEALWORMS

If you’re eating mealworms—the larval stage of a common beetle—you want to chow down on first-rate grubs.
Ynsect, the French mealworm rancher, is going to make your mealworm wishes come true.
The 11-year old company operates two mealworm farms in Europe, producing the critters for pet food, livestock feed, and a tofu-like substance for human consumption.
Now Ynsect is going upscale.
Having charted the genome of the yellow mealworm, it’s now investing $5 million to sort out the genetic traits that will mark the best breeder insects, conveying traits such as disease resistance, fast reproduction, and tastiness to their progeny.  
The company thinks that using only Grade A mealworms might help overcome the “ick” factor when people think of eating worms.
Mealworms have about the same protein content as beef per unit of weight and have been deemed safe for human consumption by the European Food Safety Authority.
TRENDPOST: Demand for protein is growing along with the world’s population while the amount of arable land is shrinking. Ynsect grows its worms in vertical farms, producing good-quality protein on far less acreage than it takes to graze livestock.
Humanity has been eating insects since the dawn of time, with “cricket bars” making a furtive entrance into natural food stores in recent years. (Verdict: they tasted better than dried leaves but you’d have to work to get to like it.)
Necessity will force new food choices on humanity. Mealworms will be on tomorrow’s menu.