On a family vacation to Oaxaca during the summer of 2006, I was introduced to what Francisco Toledo calls Mexico’s indigenous version of fast food in Jeffrey Pilcher’s article “Taco Bell, Maseca, and Slow Food.” Chapulines are fried grasshoppers sold from baskets and generally eaten with tortillas and guacamole. As the daughter of an entomologist, I’ve been a bit more intrepid in the decisions I make about what to eat. I’ve sampled my share of mealworms and chocolate covered crickets, but never had a grasshopper passed my palate.
While eating insects may seem like a strange novelty in American society, these creatures are a staple in the diet of many cultures throughout the world. Oaxacans consume 85 different species of insects including 15 varieties of grasshoppers in the nymph and adult stages. Chapulines are harvested from milpa, maize, and alfalfa fields during the months of August through December. Chapulines are not used as an emergency food to ward off starvation, but are included as a planned part of the diet throughout the year when seasonally available. They are harvested and prepared in the following manner:
1. The harvesting occurs early in the morning when the ground is cool and the chapulines are dormant.
2. They are caught with nets typically by men and younger boys in the fields.
3. The harvesters work for a couple of hours and put chapulines into a bag or box.
4. When it is cooler, they will clean the catch by eliminating unwanted bugs.
5. The chapulines are then left in a cool dark place for 2 to 3 days so they can clean themselves. This is done to empty whatever material may be in their digestive tract.
6. After they are clean, they are sorted by life stage, nymph or adult.
7. To prepare, water is brought to a boil and the chapulines are quickly added.
8. The chapulines are removed from the water and transferred to a comal (griddle) for toasting. They must be cooked because they may carry nematodes that can infest human hosts.
9. One of two flavors is added, limon y sal de gusano (worm salt) or garlic. [i]
Chapulines have long been a food source in Oaxaca. Farmers even plant a cheap kind of corn to attract the grasshoppers. While any American farmer would shy at the thought of pests among their crop, Mexican farmers see that it is better because they can get more money for the edible bugs than for their crops.[ii] Eating bugs in Mexico extends back over 3000 years. In Aztec times, pest control was accomplished largely by eating bugs rather than spraying them.[iii] The practice of harvesting insects results in a reduction of pesticides while creating economic opportunities for the people.
While the insects are harvested by males, it is generally women who sell chapulines by the bagful throughout Oaxaca’s markets. This is seasonal work that allows them to supplement their household income. A vendor can earn $100 in a day selling chapulines that cost about 20 pesos (less than $2) for a handful and 100 pesos for a kilogram.
Because chapulines are collected and prepared in the household, there is little or no cost associated with them. While the Oaxacan diet is typically built around tortillas, caldos (meat stews), and vegetables, chapulines can add a vital source of crude protein when added to these dishes. When broken down, a chapuline provides the following nutrition: 56-77% protein, 4-11% fat, 2-5% minerals, and 9-12% carbohydrate.[iv]
The demand for chapulines is rising outside of Mexico. They are being exported to the US, where they are packaged and sold to high-end restaurants and marketed as ethnic or traditional foods. Juan Garcia Oviedo, a Mexican biologist, hopes to produce more modern “mixed-bug” products in the future. By adding ground up grasshoppers to hot dogs, you can increase the nutritional value by five or six times.[v]
With uncertainty looming in the traditional domesticated animal market of chicken, cow, and pig, insects such as chapulines may be a legitimate source to turn to. When a cricket is fed a diet of similarly high quality to that used to rear conventional livestock to market size and condition, the food conversion efficiency of crickets is estimated to be two times that of pigs and broiler chicks, four times that of sheep, and more than five times that of beef animals. When considering the high fecundity of a cricket, 1500 offspring per female cricket compared to four animals in the beef herd for each animal marketed, the true food conversion efficiency is nearly 20 times greater for the cricket then beef.[vi] Protein production of insects for human consumption is more effective and consumes fewer resources than animal protein. This makes eating insects more ecological than vertebrate meat. Insects are also far cleaner than other creatures. Grasshoppers eat fresh, clean, green plants whereas crabs, lobsters and catfish eat any kind of foul, decomposing material as scavengers in water.[vii]
If insects became more widely accepted as a respectable food item in the industrial countries, there are several economic and health implications. One major concern with widespread use of chapulines is their lead contamination. In California, an investigation of lead poisoning among community residents indicated that chapulines from Oaxaca, Mexico contained in some instances as much as 2,300 micrograms of lead per gram of product. High levels of lead have been found in the soil of Zimatlan, a district in Oaxaca where chapulines are grown and harvested. An old silver mine near a village in Zimatlan is believed to be the source of contamination. The US Food and Drug Administration recommended that children under 6 should consume no more than 6.0 micrograms of lead each day from all food sources. Thus, a young child could ingest nearly 60 times his or her tolerable daily intake for lead by eating one of these highly contaminated chapulines. Lead contamination is also a concern for pregnant women. Toxic to young children and developing fetuses, lead can cause damage to the central nervous system, resulting in learning disabilities and behavioral disorders that could last a lifetime.[viii]
For me, chapulines taste similar to what fish food smells like. This may not make much sense because fish food has quite a pungent smell. Their texture is quite crispy and many people remark how at least one of their six legs gets lodged in a back molar. Though I could never envision popping a handful of crunchy grasshoppers in my mouth as though it were popcorn, using it as a condiment in things like omelets or as a protein source in chocolate chip cookies is a viable option in my diet.
Footnotes:
[i] “Chapulin.” The Chapulin and Anthropology. Ohio State University.
[ii] “Eating bugs: A lucrative market in Mexico.” The Associated Press. MSNBC.com 16 June 2005.
[iii] “Eating bugs: A lucrative market in Mexico.” The Associated Press. MSNBC.com 16 June 2005.
[iv] “Chapulin.” The Chapulin and Anthropology. Ohio State University.
[v] “Eating bugs: A lucrative market in Mexico.” The Associated Press. MSNBC.com 16 June 2005.
[vi] “A concise Summary of the General Nutritional Value of Insects.” Gene DeFoliart. Crop Production. 1992.
[vii] Lyon, William. “Insects as Human Food.” Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet.
[viii] “Health Warning on Lead-Contaminated Chapulines.” California Health Department. November 13, 2003.
