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--></style></head><body lang="EN-US" link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class="WordSection1"><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;background:white"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black">All,</span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;background:white"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black">Maybe we should start teaching cooking classes, see below!</span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;background:white"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black">jm</span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;background:white"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black"> </span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;background:white"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black">The University of British Columbia (UBC) will be having four teams of Faculty of Land and Food Systems students engage in a bug culinary showdown on Tuesday. </span><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black"></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;BOX-SIZING:border-box;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;font-stretch:normal;word-spacing:0px"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black">“This competition is the culmination of my applied biology course ‘Insects as Food and Feed,’ where we spent the semester learning about the benefits and risks of eating and using insects,” said UBC entomology instructor Yasmin Akhtar in a Monday press release. </span><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black"></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;BOX-SIZING:border-box;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;font-stretch:normal;word-spacing:0px"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black">“One of my goals is to reduce the negative perceptions people may have of eating bugs.”</span><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black"></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;BOX-SIZING:border-box;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;font-stretch:normal;word-spacing:0px"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black">Akhtar called this competition “a fun way to raise awareness among students about the nutritional value of insects, their role in sustainable food systems and the importance of considering alternative protein sources.”</span><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black"></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;BOX-SIZING:border-box;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;font-stretch:normal;word-spacing:0px"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black">In this competition, UBC said students will showcase bug dishes that are delicious, nutritious and environmentally friendly. It added esteemed judges will weigh in on the taste, texture and ingenuity of the dishes. </span><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black"></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;BOX-SIZING:border-box;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;font-stretch:normal;word-spacing:0px"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black">While bugs are tasty, Akhtar said there are two main benefits to eating them. </span><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black"></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;BOX-SIZING:border-box;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;font-stretch:normal;word-spacing:0px"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black">The first benefit is many bugs are nutritious, as they are high in protein, calcium, good fatty acids and vitamins. For example, Mexican grasshopper species Sphenarium purpurascens contain 48 grams of protein per 100 grams, compared to 27 grams of protein per 100 grams of beef. </span><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black"></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;BOX-SIZING:border-box;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;font-stretch:normal;word-spacing:0px"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black">The second benefit is environmental. Rearing insects requires less space, fewer resources such as water and less feed. </span><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black"></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;BOX-SIZING:border-box;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;font-stretch:normal;word-spacing:0px"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black">If people are wary of eating insects whole, she said they can incorporate insect flours and powders into their diets. People can purchase insect flour online and replace wheat flour in any recipe with it for tasty, high-protein baked products such as muffins or as filling in samosas. </span><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black"></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;BOX-SIZING:border-box;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;font-stretch:normal;word-spacing:0px"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black">She added barbecuing insects is another great option, as it absorbs flavour well and drys them out to become crunchy. Her favourite is barbecuing crickets. </span><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black"></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;BOX-SIZING:border-box;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;font-stretch:normal;word-spacing:0px"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black">Since some insects live in gross environments, she said they can be infested with microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi and other viruses. Like other animal proteins, she said they should be treated before they are consumed by using heat to boil or cook them. </span><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black"></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;BOX-SIZING:border-box;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;font-stretch:normal;word-spacing:0px"><span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black">The event will start on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. at Vij’s Kitchen Room 130 2205 East Mall. </span><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="BOX-SIZING:border-box;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;font-stretch:normal;word-spacing:0px"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">Jocelyn G. Millar</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">Professor</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">Dept of Entomology</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">University of California</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">3401 Watkins Drive</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">Riverside CA 92521, USA</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">Ph: 1 951 452 5452</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p></div></body></html>