昆虫食品：下一波饮食潮流？

    “这种现象不是昙花一现，而会成为一条将稳步上升的曲线的开端，”蒙大拿州立大学(Montana State University )副教授弗洛伦斯•邓克尔说。这位著名的食用昆虫专家每年都在校园组织一场昆虫自助餐，其中的特色佳肴包括蜡蛾幼虫油炸玉米饼、用咖哩粉烹调的黄粉虫和爆炒蟋蟀。

    她列举驱动人们对这种全新食物类别产生兴趣的力量，“当时的环境，对更多营养物质的需要，还有就是千禧一代在搜寻更好生活方式时抱有的开放心态，”她补充说。“在这些因素的推动下，人们开始不假思索地把昆虫作为一种蛋白质来源融入我们的饮食。”

    不过，虽然邓克尔预测称，在未来几年，冷冻蛾幼虫将与冷冻虾一道出现在消费者的购物袋之中，但其他人，包括联合国粮农组织，都比较谨慎。他们表示，至少对下一代人来说，昆虫消费类产品将依然是一个“缝隙市场”，其主要受众是寻求刺激的西方人，以及西方国家中渴望享受墨西哥蚱蜢或南部非洲可乐豆木蠕虫等传统昆虫美食的移民社区。

    负责协调粮农组织昆虫项目的联合国官员保罗•旺托姆表示，他认为最大的潜力将是动物饲料领域。他指出，在未来20年每年售出的大约1,500万吨蛋白质中，昆虫的占比有望达到10%。在他看来，昆虫将取代鱼粉，还将成为大豆粉的补充。

    “为了满足养鸡场和养猪场的需要，中国每年进口大约3,000万吨大豆粉，”旺托姆说。“中国老百姓通常一周吃一次肉，他们的肉食需求预计将在未来5年翻一番。这意味着，他们将进口6,000万吨。就连中国也开始为这些进口饲料寻找替代品。对他们来说，这是一个大问题。”

    此外，EnviroFlight公司的考特赖特表示，他预计饲料行业将成为最有潜力吸引投资的领域。“对于饲料产业来说，肯定如此。但我不认为西方公众已经做好了食用昆虫的准备，”考特赖特说。“我们还没有饿到那份上。我们目前还没有体会到挨饿的滋味，也不具备吃昆虫的文化传统。”

    前几天，就在《财富》(Fortune) 杂志社，当几位记者绘声绘色地描述他们颤颤巍巍地品尝Chapul椰子、姜汁、酸橙或花生酱和巧克力棒样品的经历时，有好几位编辑都露出了惊恐万分的表情。其中很大一部分忧虑恐怕跟有可能咬到一只蟋蟀有关——就像他们在电视节目《谁敢来挑战》(Fear Factor)中看到的那个著名场景——尽管这些能量棒看不到明显的蟋蟀痕迹，也缺乏这种吱吱叫的昆虫身上特有的那股木香味。这些食物的口味和一致性更接近于巧克力或热带棒状食品。

    几个街区之外，在曼哈顿中城的西风自然市场 (Westerly Natural Market)，有不少天然食品商店正在销售这些棒状食品。其中有一款蛋白质棒包含野鼠尾草籽，和另一种据称每销售一笔就能拯救许多生命的草籽。站在一旁的销售人员表示，Chapul蟋蟀棒主要卖给了那些尝试着迎合最新保健食品趋势的“死忠”顾客。由于市场营销活动有限，再加上公众对食用昆虫的概念还非常陌生，这些产品的销售一直非常迟缓，他们说。

    不过，对于各种反调，克劳利早已习以为常，并且承认在帮助消费者克服对昆虫食品的恐惧方面，他依然需要做大量工作。但克劳利相信他的公司有足够大的成长空间，他预计公司营收将在2015年达到100万美元，并且将在五年内突破1,000 万美元大关。

    克劳利说，“这个行业将继续增长，我对此坚信不疑。”他预计Chapul将在五年内进入1万家商店。“我们需要丰富我们的食品系统，”他说。“我们不是在尝试着消除食物来源。我们仅仅是想把昆虫添加到人们的饮食菜单之中。”（财富中文网）

    译者：叶寒

    “This is more than a blip. This is the beginning of a curve that will go steadily up,” said Montana State University Associate Prof. Florence V. Dunkel, a leading edible insect expert who organizes an annual bug buffet on campus each year featuring delicacies like wax moth larvae quesadillas, curried mealworms and Chinese stir fry made with crickets.

    “There was the environment,” she says, ticking off forces that are driving interest in the new food group. “There was the need to have more nutrients. And then there was the openness of the Millennial generation to search out better ways to live,” she added. “It’s a no-brainer to begin to incorporate insects into our diet as a protein source.”

    But while Dunkel predicts that shoppers in the next few years could find bags of frozen moth larvae next to the frozen shrimp, others, including the FAO, are more cautious. They say consumer products will remain a “niche market” for at least another generation, mostly attracting thrill-seeking Westerners as well as immigrant communities in the West pining for traditional insect favorites like grasshoppers from Mexico or Mopane worms from southern Africa.

    The FAO’s Paul Vantomme, who coordinates the agency’s insect program, says he thinks the greatest potential is in the animal feed sector, noting that insects could represent up to 10 percent of the 150 million tons of protein sold each year in two decades. The insects would replace fishmeal and supplement soybean meal, Vantomme said.

    “China imports 30 million tons of soybean meal in order to supply its chicken and pig farms,” Vantomme says. “The average Chinese eats meat once a week, and that is expected to double in the next five years. That means they will be importing 60 million tons. Even China is looking for alternatives for these imports. For them, it’s a big problem.”

    EnviroFlight’sCourtright also says he expects the animal feed sector to offer the most potential for investors. “For animal feed, definitely. For human feed, I don’t think the West is ready,” Courtright says. “We’re not that hungry yet. We are not starving and insects are not part of our culture.”

    Some of that trepidation was on display the other day at Fortune when several reporters said they were scared to even try samples of the Chapur coconut, ginger and lime or the peanut butter and chocolate bar. Much of the apprehension came from expecting to bite into a cricket, as famously seen on the TV show Fear Factor, although the bars have no visible cricket parts and lack the woodsy flavor of chirping insects. The taste and consistency are closer to a chocolate or tropical power bar.

    A few blocks away, the bars were on sale at midtown Manhattan’s Westerly Natural Market natural foods store. Positioned alongside a protein bar featuring Chia seeds and another one claiming to save lives with each sale, staffers said the Chapul cricket bars were selling mostly to “hard-core” customers trying to tap into the latest health food trends. Sales have been slow due to limited marketing and the foreign concept of edible insects, they said.

    For his part, Chapul’s Crowley has grown accustomed to the naysayers and acknowledges he still has work to do to help consumers overcome their fears of eating products like his with insects. But he believes his company has plenty of room to grow, predicting that it could see $1 million in revenue in 2015 and more than $10 million in five years.

    “I have no doubt that the industry will continue to grow,” Crowley says, noting that he expects Chapul to be in 10,000 stores in five years. “We need to diversify our food system,” he says. “We are not trying to eliminate food sources. We are just trying to add insects to the menu of the American diet.”