taste 👅 and pest management. I’ve eaten grilled locust in the Yemen. It was satisfying and I didn’t feel morally conflicted about that either. edit: I don’t feel the same way about farmed insects or uncontrolled wild harvest.
Cuz not everyone has the luxury to choose wut to eat unfortunately, there are some countries where they have to hunt for wuts available in their area. Maybe if someone starts a charity and everyone donates vegetables or smth
Frankly, "you eat bugs" sounds like the kind of insult a three year old would hurl at you and, into your flesh, it would carve the kind of wound that never had any right to be so deep and last so long.
@@seitanbeatsyourmeat666 Yep, I can eat chicken, fish and beef and actually get enough protein unlike with the plant based foods with the possible exception of goitrogenic soy based products.
As vegans, we often face how low animals like fishes are seen by people, being so different from us. Insects are considered even lower. They are killed without any reason, sometimes even sadistically. It's horrible.
@@TheBaconBasket1 Getting annoyed by an insect doesn't legitimize us in killing it. Not being "handsome" doesn't deprive an animal of its right to not being crushed to death. Our absolute supremacy on these tiny creatures puts us in a position of responsibility, not tyranny.
@@filipedias7284 I don't think so. I think we have a very special potential, but most of us lack the consciousness to use it appropriately, so they end up being destructive toward others and themselves.
The obsession with animal protein is ridiculous...just eat plants, use plant protein, why are they so obssessed sourcing it from animals when there is no benefit whatsoever, and is actually harmful.
That being said I’m still vegan except for pasture raised eggs because morally it feels right after seeing the undercover footage inside the factory farms But from a practical standpoint our species would’ve died off long ago without animal meats
@@Man_in_a_Gucci_Suit B12 comes from bacteria, not animals. It's found everywhere where bacteria is present and it can be supplemented. No need to exploit animals. You're not vegan if you use any animal products. What our ancestors ate is irrelevant, we have no necessity to do that today.
Reversed my crippling spinal arthritis on a WFPB diet thanks to Mic! and now make videos on my own channel! I don’t think I need insects to feel any better than I already do 😂 🐜
To Mic the Vegan: A omnivore diet is a person that eats regular meat and regular wild game meat, and eats vegetables, nuts, fruits and other stuff. I am still on this diet. We should be able to eat horse meat too.
To Mic the Vegan: A omnivore diet is a person that eats regular meat and regular wild game meat, and eats vegetables, nuts, fruits and other stuff. I am still on this diet. We should be able to eat horse meat too.
I mean anyone who eats avocados and almonds should know a huge bulk of that is produced in California. A lot of water and gas is used to import the water and then transport the avocados and almonds thousands of miles away all over the world. It is not environmentally friendly to eat them and also kills a lot of bees in the process. Basically killing bugs is unavoidable.
I had some bumble bees in my entry way and they could recognize me. They would fly up about a foot away, hover,and then fly away. Strangers they would dive bomb.
Wow! I never thought of bugs as having cholesterol! And it's even more than eggs which can't be called safe or healthy so.....I don't think bugs will make the cut, either. lol. I rolled my eyes hearing people want to eat bugs but still attach "vegan" to their identity when it goes against what vegan even is. I assume they know they're in the wrong but just want the moral high ground of claiming their vegan without actually being vegan.
@@davidlovesyeshua To be fair, it's not more than eggs. He's comparing 1 egg (6g protein) with 100G of Cricket flour (60g of proteins). Since these are "protein foods" a more balanced comparison would be against 10 eggs, where they would be equal protein and the eggs would have MUCH more cholesterol.
@@davidlovesyeshua Even before I REALLY knew what being vegan meant, I still didn't go around buying animal products while calling myself vegan. If someone buys animal products then they're not vegan. To let people go around muddying the waters isn't helpful. People will think vegan means whatever they want.
@@suicune2001 I was taking issue with your statement that people know they're wrong when they classify bugs as non-sentient and then consume them. Presumably in the context of veganism some/most people think of animal products as equivalent to "sentient being" products. That's why there's generally no debate over whether something like eggs or beef is an animal product, but there's long been debate over honey, bivalves, insects, etc. As an example, perhaps someone isn't aware of the recent studies highlighted in this video and is thinking of earlier statements or case examples from science where certain insects appeared to behave in a particularly robotic manner? The correct response is dialogue/correction, not accusations that they know they're wrong and lying to justify themselves publicly.
Plants are unconscious and don’t feel pains as animals do due to the lack of nervous system. When getting injured animals would escape or fight back as a response, whereas plants would only respond chemically by secreting growth hormones to heal the injured site.
I was appalled when a coworker asked me if I had used insect flour in the cake I made for them. I almost shouted « I’m vegan , I don’t eat beasts, whatever their size! ». I’m at a loss as to why people are so obsessed with animal proteins 😢
Ok… so, if a child tears a fly’s wings as a game it’s universally considered torture and a sign of psychopathy, but when a firm wants to crush and sell said fly as animal protein it’s no longer sentient? Come on! 😂
It IS a phychopathic trait to hurt sentient beings for fun/pleasure. As it was mentioned here, insects can feel pain. Therefore, yes, if you like that, you have some psycho tendencies. Moreover, the child comment refers to how psychopaths start with little animals until they go to hurt humans. This is present in all if not most of serial killers that are famous. Of course, for things like this speciesism affects morality because of cognitive dissonance. But it doesn't make it untrue.
Cruelty it's not human nature. Otherwise documentaries like dominion would be an easy watch. Or going to slaughterhouses would be a nice visit. Internally most people knows it's not ok.
Ey im Mexican (living in Mexico my whole life and I’m a 5 year old vegan) and eating bugs it’s a normal thing here. Before I became vegan I ate a lot of bugs. Like legit bug tacos and ant dishes. When I became vegan I actually made myself this question since in my state grasshoppers are sold everywhere on the market and they are suuuuuuuuuper cheap. A few dolar cents. But as I researched it I came to the conclusion that if I was gonna become vegan I have to respect allllllll animals. Included insects.
We've all heard about kids burning ants with magnifying glass, ants won't stand there and let you burn them. They run away bc it hurts. Also I'm allergic to shellfish and have heard I shouldn't eat insects bc of that. I'll stick to beans thank you. 😊
Absolutely. Feelings are motivators to move away from harm and towards things that support life. So, logically, any being who can move, and certainly any being who can learn and make choices are sentient and can feel. It's completely illogical to think insects don't feel. And we should always give them the benefit of the doubt anyways.
@@fromeveryting29 the house I'm renting is infested with ants btw. Some tried to nest in my snake home, I scooped them all up and flushed em down thr toilet. Babies and all. Don't bite my snake ! He was clearly in distress and uncomfortable, then got a huge wound I had to medicate. Poor little dude. I also took responsibility for snakes before becoming vegan, I believe carnivores animals need to eat. Least favorite part.
@@animatorstanley Some vegan you are! Could you not put them outside in the garden or somewhere else free? Why do you have to kill them!! All animals deserve to live not just the big ones.
@@parislove4769 I put them out before and they came back in. They were attacking me, my home and the non human animals I live with. In the immortal words of Bugs Bunny "of course you know, this means war". They found a warm place safe from the elements, duh they don't want to stay outside. Tell me, would you let mosquitos suck your blood? Would you let cockroaches climb all over your kitchen and home? Do you feed the wild mice in your walls? What about parasites? Just live and let tapeworms live in your intestines? People are allowed to defend themselves and those they care about against pests, parasites and carnivores. Say whatever you want but I don't want ants nesting in my cupboards and biting everyone that lives here. Not to mention it's gross. Couple all that with the fact insects outnumber every other living thing on Earth. I don't morn a few ants in the grand scheme of it all.
@@animatorstanley So you declare war on tiny vulnerable insects who have way less power than you, thats how cowards do it. If you really wanted to let them live you would have found something out. I'll tell you how i deal with the animals you mentioned. I have a house with a garden and a garage but the garage is detached from my house. I had put there last year in boxes all kinds of stuff that i didnt use often but not cheap things. I never had a problem with mice other years so i thought it would be safe. Turns out mice destroyed most of my stuff.I had to throw most of the things away and what survived i had to clean up very good. I lost a few thousand and wasted time and energy to clean up. I found all the mice, there were like 20 of them but i didnt kill them. I just let them free in my garden. If they come back the garage is now empty. Ants and other insects get repelled by some natural scents like mint and citrus. You can use these and they will stay away. For flies and mosquitoes i have bought once a bird net, so i catch them with the net, throw them outside and close the window. Animals are NOT attacking you, they just look for food. Show some mercy by at least sparing their life. You would do the same if you were in their place.
I don't have a problem if people who can't get a better food source eat bugs, but I don't think anyone who has a choice should. We can't just say they can't feel pain and don't have emotions. We just don't know!
It’s been around for a while in pet foods as well. It’s also expensive! IMHO it’s stomach turning and cannot get past how it’s promoted as heathy for humans or pets.
@xYevo you know insects have been part of many cultures cuisine for centuries, don’t you? How would this be a billionaire’s attempt at humiliating you ?
@@justcarineinparis why are you trying to rationalize eating food for the poor and dispensable while the rich elite will fine dine on meat as much as they please?
I worked at a pet store and we sold live crickets as food for other animals (mostly reptiles/amphibians). Something I always think about with cricket flour and powders becoming popular is that crickets are such dirty insects. Especially with them being farmed on a massive scale, they poop a lot and there's no way to successfully clean out all the poop (trust me I've cleaned the cricket bins many times!) So I'm sure that a good percentage of that cricket flour is poop. The more you know.
probably the most idiotic thing is when someone say's "they want us all eating insects".. when NO... we don't need to eat insects AT ALL! lentils or chickpeas are much more sensible.. but I love how they assume that insects are the only source of protein.
I really wonder why people are so afraid of or traumatized by broccoli that they'd rather eat bugs and worms. Just eat you damn vegetables! it can't be that hard.
I never realised crickets contained so much cholesterol. I honestly like the taste of edible insects, but I guess I'll just stay with my beans, lentils and chickpeas. :)
Thanks for the information, Mic. You more or less confirmed my intuition regarding this matter, namely that whenever big business starts jumping on any bandwagon, big time BS will be promulgated. Interesting, too, that theres so much cholesterol in insects and that the industry is so quick to start peddling the false notion that humans "need" it. Yeah, we do need it, but we already make plenty.
It's true. We are brainwashed from birth to accept what our family and society tells us, which is why most people eat or don't eat certain things. I doubt most of the world would consider eating bugs... unless they were truly starving... because of these ingrained biases. Despite their relationship to bugs, seafood is the only thing I really enjoyed and still miss. Because we lived near the sea, it was plentiful, free for the catching, delicious, and a family event we relished and shared together. I wish I knew then what I know now.
Lobsters look like giant cockroaches. I once went with workmates to a seafood restaurant, and watched with horrified fascination as some of them literally tore apart lobsters and crabs to eat the insides. And all the time I was thinking about how they were basically eating monster insects. I will definitely give insects as food a hard NOPE. Followed by a shudder.
Great video, Mic, as always!! Thanks! But my husband, who is a botanist profesor, said the picture you showed is actually from Alfred Russel Wallace hehe
What is wrong with beans?? For the global nutrition problem.. I dunno. I don’t think pretty wide areas of the developing world can transition to veganism yet. It would help if the developed world makes this transition first. What if it is not a matter of finding alternative animal sources but, rather, convincing the majority of the developed world to switch? If you could then pull even half the population of China, and increase India’s 24% vegetarian population to 50%.. The vast majority of farmed and hunted animal deaths would be stopped. People are just extremely psychologically invested in meat with as many meals as possible. It’s not even an old thing. It probably goes back to post-WW2 for most of the planet’s cultures. We can reset this.
Are those who make fun of us as “Soy Boys” and won’t even taste a vegan burger which many hamburger fast food restaurants offer, they are going to eat crickets? Their paranoia over soy is outrageous. It took a while for me to feel comfortable with soy as now I am eating more tofu and edamame than I did before due to the giving me more relief from the side effects of menopause. I put a link to the YT video on that clip from the movie “Dracula: Dead and Loving it” where Renfield struggles to hide that he has a half eaten cricket struggling to get out of his mouth in one scene. Very funny, of course, it is a Mel Brooks film. th-cam.com/video/RKbr8arXVJM/w-d-xo.html We could call the eating of insects as a “pest-atarian”. LOL! There was also the farming of worms as Wendy’s Hamburgers, did they not try a “worm burger” quite a while ago, like 1978”. To say the least the public was not on board and the got rid of it. I never tasted one? Did anyone try that? Just wondering. As far as grinding up crickets for food, is the exoskeleton of the insect digestible? I understood we can’t digest chitin. Would we have to take an enzyme to aid in digestion of chitin? Not that I want to eat crickets, I don’t. Been vegan for 10 years, managing fine with my health currently. Just like adding to my general knowledge.
That Vegan Couple did a podcast once with a guy who studied insects and he said flies give oral to each other. I mean, I can't believe we have to do these horrible experiments on insects just to prove something we can see with our own eyes. Even if they don't feel pain (which they obviously do), why should we take away their pleasure? Humans just want to (literally in this case) step on other people. It boosts our egos for some evil reason. Also, I would like a video on the cordyceps virus from The Last of Us. That show made grain out to be the bad guy, but we vegans, we all know. We know where diseases are most likely to come from. Oh, we know.
It just makes more sense that heat-enduring cordyceps would develop in a warm climate and spread through something commonly consumed like wheat flour, where they are already often found anyway. It would be implausible that this should happen through animal farming. This series is not making a statement regarding the next most likely pandemic in the world and there's no point in regarding it as such.
@@discursion don't currently existing carnivorous cordyceps currently propagate via insect bodies? For example, they infect ants, force them to climb to the top of trees, then spore out of their heads, so it rains down to infect ants on the ground. I'm not sure it makes sense that grain would be the source. It makes more sense that animals (especially insects) would be, since there are already similar fungi all across the world that currently prey on them. It's a much smaller leap for a organism to switch/expand to another animal as prey, than to jump from plants directly to mammals/humans.
@@brandygibson5003 You're right, on the evolution standpoint it makes more sense. The show envisions that this specie evolved "naturally" somewhere in Jakarta to adapt to bigger organisms and warmer climates, and ultimately found itself introduced in the wheat flour production chain (which is plausible as it already does). However, the show does not specify how that evolution happened to begin with, so it might very well be that these cordycepts evolved through insects in wheat fields as well as surrounding animal farms. The issue the show encounters with that scenario is that humans would have been alerted of the infection on animals. The flour scenario allows for an immediate global catastrophe to take place. Rather, I think the most likely sequence of events here would be one in which some wild animals perpetuated cycles of infections outside of humanity's reach, and the fungus was suddenly introduced in our food supply chain. It seems like the only credible way the authors could have introduced this sudden global pandemic (also it's very different from an airborne disease, so the spread factor would be quite low). What do you think?
I don’t understand the issue of if an insect feels pain when you kill it. Swatting a mosquito is as quick and painless a death as possible and all the bugs have to eventually die anyways. If anything, swatting a fly or a mosquito is more humane than letting it die a slow painful death.
I never felt guilty about swatting at mosquitos. They drew blood first and usually escape anyway. But I have considered that we are thereby selecting the fastest mosquitos for survival, making them more and more annoying to humans over time.
Human blood is a very, very small portion of a mosquitoes food. Us swatting them has no impact on the trajectory of their evolution. They feed primarily on other animals.
@@Mousehansen I meant that the ones we succeed in killing are the slower ones, and they are therefore selected out of the ongoing gene pool. (The "drew blood" part was just about how I don't feel guilty for trying to defend myself. Nothing to do with the evolutionary speculation.)
Nothing to do with the video but supporting Rowling is highly problematic because she supports anti trans legislation. Other than that I am glad that you made a video on insects because they are so often touted as the future of food.
@Mic the Vegan: I love your channel! I think you should do another video on insects as protein alternatives though. The questions I hope you could address are these: -for people who are allergic to nuts and beans, are insects a better option than animal proteins? -for people who are keto (or Republican or stupid, etc.) and cannot be convinced to ever consider veganism, could eating insects be a much better alternative to meat? Environmental impact? -Could insects be a good potential for cat food and dog foods and how insect proteins compare to animal proteins. Other nutrients for cats? I think the debate over feeling pain is beside the point because everything must die. I quick painless kill is probably more humane than a slow painful death. Thanks for considering this. You do awesome work! I love your content. ❤
As a tourist curiosity in East Asia, why not? Or if I I found myself in the hypothetical situation where I had to choose between steak and grasshopper, it's a bo brainer, but... What's wrong with walnuts and lentils?
Protein is overrated, you do not need that much. I use cronometer and according to my personal diet which is specialized for anti aging and heavily based on raw veganism, I get much more protein than I need. Most bodybuilders who base their diet on protein, after the age of 30 look like they are 45, too many wrinkles, bad rough skin, premature aging. They look horrible. But its not their fault, reading more and more, its the fault of trainers and doctors, they seriously fucked up men and their health, those "professionals". Horrible mentality and belief system.
All that protein just makes them grow and grow and reach the Hayflick limit sooner. That's why Arnold Schwarzenegger is the only old bodybuilder, he went vegan in time ;).
Very interesting video! I'm a vegan so I don't eat insects, but up until this point my reasoning was more because it's really easy to avoid them, not because I had strong ethical issues against eating insects. This video was really informative on that last part! I will likely still be swatting musquitos that try to bite me or spiders that come too close to me though (im a big aragnophobe). But I'm not going out of my way to do it.
I had an experience with a cucumber beetle twice. The first time I found it on my produce that I had gotten out of the garden. I held it between my thumb and my finger before I put it outside. It was actually making noises that I could hear. I tried to record it but it was too low of a noise for my microphone to pick up. It happened again in the garden because I wanted to test it out that I wasn't hearing things. It did it again, and I am thinking it thought I was going to hurt it. I definitely think they can feel things.
I despise people who say "i'm vegan except on fridays, i eat fish" but i myself put the limit at mosquitoes. I prefer to kill one than be bitten. Though i prepared mosquito screens last summer, to avoid the problem altogether, but it seems that they disapeared from my city, now ...
"Can it feel pain" always sounded dumb to me. If you mean in a "centralized way", then relatively not much feels pain, but if we describe in in a "reaction to damage" then pretty much everything but simple viruses feel pain. Plants have reactions to damage which can prepare the rest of the plant to the trauma and singled-celled organisms too feel pain and present to behaviors, state, which we may even start to call emotions, like fear. Personally to me the issues with eathing things are 2: 1) Is it a person? 2) How can I end up eating it causing it the least amount of pain possible? Environmental sustainability is also an issue, but it comes after the first two (talking about mass-farming martian UFO pilots ain't really something that should be initiated).
This reminds me of how some use borax as an insect deterrent. I was told it gets into the joints of insects and being activated by water cause an arthritic type sensation in the joint. This discomfort is what drives them away. Not a scientific comment here. But I think discomfort can be translated into pain.
As a vegan, my personal take on insects (and all animals) is this: if an animal’s trying to bite me, I will defend myself, which may include killing her. If animals are posing a threat to my health through spreading bacteria in my home, I’ll do my best to deter them and/or trap and release them far away from my home, but if that isn’t possible, needs must. If an animal is just minding her own business outside of my home, I leave her alone. If any of you have kinder ideas to deal with animals like roaches, mosquitos, and flies (bearing in mind crowded city conditions), do let me know! If there were a better alternative to killing or poison, I love to use it.
I adore insects, they are so adorable. As an Autistic man, when I was a child, I found myself fascinated with them (One of those weird Autistic obsessions, if you know, you know). I'd handle wild insects, and be amazed. I'm still amazed today. Spending time watching them going about their little lives, you realize how complex they are. Even now, I will never harm an insect, when they get trapped in my home, I quickly catch and release them (Yes, even wasps). They aren't as intelligent as other species, but it costs nothing to show a little kindness towards other earthlings. Insects are so important to the environment, we aught to respect them more.
Protein obsession leads some down strange paths. My first thought was there was no way they could match plants for GHG since you are realistically going to feed them plants and conversion is never going to be 100% efficient. I would only eat insects if I was literally in a starvation situation, and it was that or starve. When I can choose between grains, beans, fruits, vegetables OR insects, there is no reason I would eat insects. The only reason I can image for investment in this, is faulty belief in the need for "Protein Foods".
I'm a vegan but I do buy insects, because I have three large breed rescue dogs that have struggled on a vegan diet. If I have to buy an animal protein for them I would like to pick the least sentient, most sustainable possible source. Insects may also be a good solution for cats, as vegan diets can cause serious health risks in cats. The pet food I buy is formulated by vets to meet all of a dogs nutritional needs. I personally don't want to consume bugs in any high amounts but for my pets, I think it is genuinely one of the best options.
I've said it in your comments before. Eating insects causes massively more individual death than other animals. My point is that even if they did suffer less each, they suffer much more total. After watching through, you got it too, good.
I'm not fully vegetarian, I eat small amounts of seafood, but I am thinking of reducing it down to bivalves only. I will continue to eat dairy and eggs.
Whether or not they feel just as much pain as we do. Hypothetically, if it turns out they do not feel pain at all, it’s likely they are still able to sense their body has been harmed. Which wouldn’t make it lesser at all. They in that case, experience harm differently
That is ridiculous! You can’t call yourself a vegan or have the word there if you eat bugs! I can’t believe some people are so brainwashed that they can not believe they can live perfect healthy without eating some type of sentient being. By nature we are herbivores. We have no slicing molars and can move our jaw from side to side. Omnivores have slicing molars and they can taste raw meat because they have the right taste buds. We became meat eaters out of survival. And if we were omnivores, we could live on plants alone and live well. Pandas are true omnivores. They have the slicing molars and their jaws can’t move side to side. And the strength of their jaws are much stronger than ours to crush through bone. Yet, probably out of survival, they decided not just to eat a balanced plant diet, but a strict diet of bamboos only. Why were they able to do this!? Because nobody told them they couldn’t!
@Cthvuncuh that is terrible incorrect. It does make any sense to have herbivore jaws and lion like digestive track. Our digestive track is no way like lions of pandas. It is long not short. And herbivores can eat meat. They just get the same health problems we get. The meat and dairy sometimes feeds cows to cows. Check your sources before posting.
@Cthvuncuh it is if you believe meat and dairy propaganda. Plant based individuals are not the ones suffering from all the diseases carnist suffer. And take a good look at our teeth. WE HAVE NO SLICING MOLARS. Our digestive track is not at all like predators. It is long not short. I do my homework since I am an independent scientist. I created the most accurate theory of gravity ever made. I placed all factors of gravity under one equation and accidentally created a theory of how the universe works and how the Big Bang happens. All of the real geniuses I know were plant based. Including Leonardo DaVinci and Tesla. You are begin to sound like a troll.
@Cthvuncuh it is if you believe meat and dairy propaganda. Plant based individuals are not the ones suffering from all the diseases carnist suffer. And take a good look at our teeth. WE HAVE NO SLICING MOLARS. Our digestive track is not at all like predators. It is long not short. I do my homework since I am an independent scientist. I created the most accurate theory of gravity ever made. I placed all factors of gravity under one equation and accidentally created a theory of how the universe works and how the Big Bang happens. All of the real geniuses I know were plant based. Including Leonardo DaVinci and Tesla. You are begin to sound like a troll.
@Cthvuncuh Again, you have been seeing fake vegan ASTROTURFING on TH-cam. That is not at all true. And I enjoy food more now than when I was a meat eater. This is because the taste buds adapt. And they adapt better since I began to eat my biological diet. You know you are making less sense now and moving into troll territory stating nonsense. Right....right! This is a waste of my time. I know by now no matter the fact, you will continue to waste my time.
The insect conversation no one wants to have is if honey is any worse than sugar for insects. Considering land and pesticide use, it's arguable that raw local honey might be less harmful. In addition, someone consuming excessive amounts of refined calories is also doing far more harm to insects and negligently using up more deforested land. Obesity is a disease but most people can moderate their consumption for a good cause. Regarding the death toll or if it's specist to not care about insects, I believe that the number of neurons matters... particularly in the brain. There's also the fact that insects have to capacity to cause catastrophes for our civilization.
I might have considered eating bugs when i was still searching and believed i needed animal protein. But now that i'm happily eating my starches, fruit and vegetables. No way. It's also not vegan. Clip of ladybug playing: th-cam.com/video/aOG557pk28E/w-d-xo.html There is a lot more going on in those little heads than we give them credit for (what else is new).
@@abcdefg-xm7dc i know.. I was askin him about his calroeis because vegan diet/unprocessed foods even with a lot of eating sometimes is difficult to consume all needed calories... What's ur daily calorie intake
@rn5697 that's not true. I'm currently eating at a calorie deficit but still get 100% of my nutrients. Put your meals into a calorie counter you'll see how healthy plant foods are.
Okay, and hear me out here, there are even some plants that can ‘feel pain’ and respond to damage by producing toxins and/or sending out distress signals through mycelium networks in the soil, meaning that some plants even exhibit a type of ‘social behavior’. You can tell me that plant sentience is insanity and I would say it depends on the threshold - all organisms, including plants, respond to stimuli in complex and fascinating ways. Obviously it is not possible to eliminate all consumption of all organisms, but it really puts into perspective what kind of respect we should have for the organisms we do consume. I am still vegan, and I do not use animal products including those produced by insects like honey, but I think it’s a grey area as to what is and is not ethical use of other organisms. Ultimately our threshold for sentience is always going to be human-centric and many different organisms can experience suffering in ways we may not immediately recognize. There isn’t really such thing as an ‘objective morality’ where we can draw solid lines between a organisms that are worth our care and empathy and organisms that are not.
"and I do not use animal products including those produced by insects like honey," Animal based stearic acid (livestock tallow) and animal based activated carbon (livestock bones) are the industry standard in processor manufacturing. How did you comment without using something with a processor? Smoke signals? Just another wannabe pushing nonsense.
One area I actually think this bug agriculture could be especially helpful is food for carnivorous animals. Europe has been producing insect based cat food for years - US brands are only just now experimenting with it. It’s not perfect but a lot less harmful than traditional cat food. (And I know there are vegan cat foods but they are honestly all extremely questionable and sketchy. Hardly any legitimate studies on it outside of surveys which are nearly useless)
What about pupea? To my knowledge their central nervous system is degenerated. I read some research which showed that silkworm pupea contain DHA and arachidonic acid. By using e.g. silkworm pupea oil and powder one could potentially cover all carninutrients (meatbased bioactive conpunds) and essential fatty acids. Some silkworm species eat verry laurel, thus you could easily keep the caterpillars at home till they go into metamorphosis.
Question : What's more important from an ethical perspective. Lowering numbers of animals killed, or lower the amount of time these animals lose when we kill them?
I really don't understand why anyone would want to eat insects instead of just eating plants....
taste 👅 and pest management. I’ve eaten grilled locust in the Yemen. It was satisfying and I didn’t feel morally conflicted about that either.
edit: I don’t feel the same way about farmed insects or uncontrolled wild harvest.
Cuz not everyone has the luxury to choose wut to eat unfortunately, there are some countries where they have to hunt for wuts available in their area. Maybe if someone starts a charity and everyone donates vegetables or smth
People have a fetish for eating moving things.
Frankly, "you eat bugs" sounds like the kind of insult a three year old would hurl at you and, into your flesh, it would carve the kind of wound that never had any right to be so deep and last so long.
Right!! Like ANYTHING but plants! 🙄
Eat beans, not beetles! #goVegan 🌱
Humans should just leave the animals and nature alone! 👉 The Connections (2021) [short documentary] 🔥
I don't think I'm going to eat 1kg of cooked of beans every day to get enough protein.
@@cyberfunk3793great news! You don’t have to
🙄
@@seitanbeatsyourmeat666 Yep, I can eat chicken, fish and beef and actually get enough protein unlike with the plant based foods with the possible exception of goitrogenic soy based products.
@@cyberfunk3793 brocolli also conisdered groitogenic, what do u think of it?
As vegans, we often face how low animals like fishes are seen by people, being so different from us. Insects are considered even lower. They are killed without any reason, sometimes even sadistically. It's horrible.
Because some insects are annoying as shit unless it's a handsome spider.
@@TheBaconBasket1 Getting annoyed by an insect doesn't legitimize us in killing it. Not being "handsome" doesn't deprive an animal of its right to not being crushed to death.
Our absolute supremacy on these tiny creatures puts us in a position of responsibility, not tyranny.
@@Corilo91 I was making a spider man joke
Sometimes I wonder, are we the enemy?
@@filipedias7284 I don't think so. I think we have a very special potential, but most of us lack the consciousness to use it appropriately, so they end up being destructive toward others and themselves.
Ppl rather eat insects for the environment, instead of going vegan 🙃
Humans should just leave the animals and nature alone! 👉 The Connections (2021) [short documentary] 🔥
We live in the up-side-down
*There's no reasonable argument for the claim that insects are not sentient*
The obsession with animal protein is ridiculous...just eat plants, use plant protein, why are they so obssessed sourcing it from animals when there is no benefit whatsoever, and is actually harmful.
It's just insane 👏
Cause they're brainwashed and lazy.
We clearly weren’t meant to be vegan
B12 the most necessary vitamin their is comes exclusively from animal products
That being said I’m still vegan except for pasture raised eggs because morally it feels right after seeing the undercover footage inside the factory farms
But from a practical standpoint our species would’ve died off long ago without animal meats
@@Man_in_a_Gucci_Suit B12 comes from bacteria, not animals. It's found everywhere where bacteria is present and it can be supplemented. No need to exploit animals. You're not vegan if you use any animal products.
What our ancestors ate is irrelevant, we have no necessity to do that today.
Reversed my crippling spinal arthritis on a WFPB diet thanks to Mic! and now make videos on my own channel! I don’t think I need insects to feel any better than I already do 😂 🐜
Well done! Plants are great healers
To Mic the Vegan:
A omnivore diet is a person that eats regular meat and regular wild game meat, and eats vegetables, nuts, fruits and other stuff. I am still on this diet. We should be able to eat horse meat too.
Just like all living earthlings the wild insect populations have declined tremendously. What more do we need to change?
To Mic the Vegan:
A omnivore diet is a person that eats regular meat and regular wild game meat, and eats vegetables, nuts, fruits and other stuff. I am still on this diet. We should be able to eat horse meat too.
I mean anyone who eats avocados and almonds should know a huge bulk of that is produced in California. A lot of water and gas is used to import the water and then transport the avocados and almonds thousands of miles away all over the world. It is not environmentally friendly to eat them and also kills a lot of bees in the process.
Basically killing bugs is unavoidable.
So a burger made of pea protein vs one made of crushed up grasshoppers? Um that’s a seriously tough choice 😂
Insect taste good lmao
Bacon tho, no wait i mean insect
I had some bumble bees in my entry way and they could recognize me. They would fly up about a foot away, hover,and then fly away. Strangers they would dive bomb.
Insects are still living beings and very important to the health of the planet.
If you farm them, and they die naturally withn a few weeks, is it still wrong?
Wow! I never thought of bugs as having cholesterol! And it's even more than eggs which can't be called safe or healthy so.....I don't think bugs will make the cut, either. lol. I rolled my eyes hearing people want to eat bugs but still attach "vegan" to their identity when it goes against what vegan even is. I assume they know they're in the wrong but just want the moral high ground of claiming their vegan without actually being vegan.
Why assume that (they know they’re wrong)? Is it really so difficult to empathize with people who sincerely see the world differently to you?
@@davidlovesyeshua To be fair, it's not more than eggs. He's comparing 1 egg (6g protein) with 100G of Cricket flour (60g of proteins). Since these are "protein foods" a more balanced comparison would be against 10 eggs, where they would be equal protein and the eggs would have MUCH more cholesterol.
@@peterscott2662 you mean cricket protein powder. What a surprise it has high protein amount, but also not really food
@@davidlovesyeshua Even before I REALLY knew what being vegan meant, I still didn't go around buying animal products while calling myself vegan. If someone buys animal products then they're not vegan. To let people go around muddying the waters isn't helpful. People will think vegan means whatever they want.
@@suicune2001 I was taking issue with your statement that people know they're wrong when they classify bugs as non-sentient and then consume them. Presumably in the context of veganism some/most people think of animal products as equivalent to "sentient being" products. That's why there's generally no debate over whether something like eggs or beef is an animal product, but there's long been debate over honey, bivalves, insects, etc.
As an example, perhaps someone isn't aware of the recent studies highlighted in this video and is thinking of earlier statements or case examples from science where certain insects appeared to behave in a particularly robotic manner? The correct response is dialogue/correction, not accusations that they know they're wrong and lying to justify themselves publicly.
Of course insects feel pain,animals need to feel it to escape danger.
So do plants
Plants are unconscious and don’t feel pains as animals do due to the lack of nervous system. When getting injured animals would escape or fight back as a response, whereas plants would only respond chemically by secreting growth hormones to heal the injured site.
I was appalled when a coworker asked me if I had used insect flour in the cake I made for them. I almost shouted « I’m vegan , I don’t eat beasts, whatever their size! ».
I’m at a loss as to why people are so obsessed with animal proteins 😢
Because they are better and not pretending to care about animals
@@Archiesquaddy I mean the context matters. From what i read it sounds more like a request. And yes, some requests shouldn't be requested.
Ok… so, if a child tears a fly’s wings as a game it’s universally considered torture and a sign of psychopathy, but when a firm wants to crush and sell said fly as animal protein it’s no longer sentient?
Come on!
😂
It IS a phychopathic trait to hurt sentient beings for fun/pleasure.
As it was mentioned here, insects can feel pain.
Therefore, yes, if you like that, you have some psycho tendencies.
Moreover, the child comment refers to how psychopaths start with little animals until they go to hurt humans. This is present in all if not most of serial killers that are famous.
Of course, for things like this speciesism affects morality because of cognitive dissonance. But it doesn't make it untrue.
Cruelty it's not human nature.
Otherwise documentaries like dominion would be an easy watch.
Or going to slaughterhouses would be a nice visit.
Internally most people knows it's not ok.
Ey im Mexican (living in Mexico my whole life and I’m a 5 year old vegan) and eating bugs it’s a normal thing here. Before I became vegan I ate a lot of bugs. Like legit bug tacos and ant dishes. When I became vegan I actually made myself this question since in my state grasshoppers are sold everywhere on the market and they are suuuuuuuuuper cheap. A few dolar cents. But as I researched it I came to the conclusion that if I was gonna become vegan I have to respect allllllll animals. Included insects.
We've all heard about kids burning ants with magnifying glass, ants won't stand there and let you burn them. They run away bc it hurts. Also I'm allergic to shellfish and have heard I shouldn't eat insects bc of that. I'll stick to beans thank you. 😊
Absolutely. Feelings are motivators to move away from harm and towards things that support life. So, logically, any being who can move, and certainly any being who can learn and make choices are sentient and can feel. It's completely illogical to think insects don't feel. And we should always give them the benefit of the doubt anyways.
@@fromeveryting29 the house I'm renting is infested with ants btw. Some tried to nest in my snake home, I scooped them all up and flushed em down thr toilet. Babies and all. Don't bite my snake ! He was clearly in distress and uncomfortable, then got a huge wound I had to medicate. Poor little dude. I also took responsibility for snakes before becoming vegan, I believe carnivores animals need to eat. Least favorite part.
@@animatorstanley Some vegan you are! Could you not put them outside in the garden or somewhere else free? Why do you have to kill them!! All animals deserve to live not just the big ones.
@@parislove4769 I put them out before and they came back in. They were attacking me, my home and the non human animals I live with. In the immortal words of Bugs Bunny "of course you know, this means war". They found a warm place safe from the elements, duh they don't want to stay outside.
Tell me, would you let mosquitos suck your blood? Would you let cockroaches climb all over your kitchen and home? Do you feed the wild mice in your walls? What about parasites? Just live and let tapeworms live in your intestines?
People are allowed to defend themselves and those they care about against pests, parasites and carnivores.
Say whatever you want but I don't want ants nesting in my cupboards and biting everyone that lives here. Not to mention it's gross. Couple all that with the fact insects outnumber every other living thing on Earth. I don't morn a few ants in the grand scheme of it all.
@@animatorstanley So you declare war on tiny vulnerable insects who have way less power than you, thats how cowards do it. If you really wanted to let them live you would have found something out. I'll tell you how i deal with the animals you mentioned. I have a house with a garden and a garage but the garage is detached from my house. I had put there last year in boxes all kinds of stuff that i didnt use often but not cheap things. I never had a problem with mice other years so i thought it would be safe. Turns out mice destroyed most of my stuff.I had to throw most of the things away and what survived i had to clean up very good. I lost a few thousand and wasted time and energy to clean up. I found all the mice, there were like 20 of them but i didnt kill them. I just let them free in my garden. If they come back the garage is now empty. Ants and other insects get repelled by some natural scents like mint and citrus. You can use these and they will stay away. For flies and mosquitoes i have bought once a bird net, so i catch them with the net, throw them outside and close the window. Animals are NOT attacking you, they just look for food. Show some mercy by at least sparing their life. You would do the same if you were in their place.
The term "Ento-vegan" reminds me of the article I read this morning, which proclaimed "Paleo-vegan" allows for eating some animal products.
I don't have a problem if people who can't get a better food source eat bugs, but I don't think anyone who has a choice should. We can't just say they can't feel pain and don't have emotions. We just don't know!
Lobsters and shrimp scream in pain and are closely related to insects so how could they not feel pain?
Vampiric mosquitoes get no love from me. I chalk it up to self-defense.
It’s been around for a while in pet foods as well. It’s also expensive! IMHO it’s stomach turning and cannot get past how it’s promoted as heathy for humans or pets.
Not to forget the fitness industry is jumping on that train, so there are insect protein bars and powders now.
I'm not eating bugs bc billionaires want to humiliate me
@xYevo you know insects have been part of many cultures cuisine for centuries, don’t you? How would this be a billionaire’s attempt at humiliating you ?
@@justcarineinparis why are you trying to rationalize eating food for the poor and dispensable while the rich elite will fine dine on meat as much as they please?
I'll continue eating plants 😜
I worked at a pet store and we sold live crickets as food for other animals (mostly reptiles/amphibians). Something I always think about with cricket flour and powders becoming popular is that crickets are such dirty insects. Especially with them being farmed on a massive scale, they poop a lot and there's no way to successfully clean out all the poop (trust me I've cleaned the cricket bins many times!) So I'm sure that a good percentage of that cricket flour is poop. The more you know.
probably the most idiotic thing is when someone say's "they want us all eating insects".. when NO... we don't need to eat insects AT ALL! lentils or chickpeas are much more sensible.. but I love how they assume that insects are the only source of protein.
I really wonder why people are so afraid of or traumatized by broccoli that they'd rather eat bugs and worms. Just eat you damn vegetables! it can't be that hard.
If eating bugs is vegan. Then honey would also be vegan
I never realised crickets contained so much cholesterol.
I honestly like the taste of edible insects, but I guess I'll just stay with my beans, lentils and chickpeas. :)
Thanks for the information, Mic. You more or less confirmed my intuition regarding this matter, namely that whenever big business starts jumping on any bandwagon, big time BS will be promulgated. Interesting, too, that theres so much cholesterol in insects and that the industry is so quick to start peddling the false notion that humans "need" it. Yeah, we do need it, but we already make plenty.
Mic you're so freaking good at putting all this well documented info together. Thank you.
Thank you for including the cited sources in the description.
Tell a carnist if you eating crabs, shrimps, lobster you already eating the bugs.
I have called them "sea roaches" lol.
It's true. We are brainwashed from birth to accept what our family and society tells us, which is why most people eat or don't eat certain things. I doubt most of the world would consider eating bugs... unless they were truly starving... because of these ingrained biases. Despite their relationship to bugs, seafood is the only thing I really enjoyed and still miss. Because we lived near the sea, it was plentiful, free for the catching, delicious, and a family event we relished and shared together. I wish I knew then what I know now.
Lobsters look like giant cockroaches. I once went with workmates to a seafood restaurant, and watched with horrified fascination as some of them literally tore apart lobsters and crabs to eat the insides. And all the time I was thinking about how they were basically eating monster insects. I will definitely give insects as food a hard NOPE. Followed by a shudder.
Bugs full of Lead, Cadmium, Chromium, Thallium, Arsenic, PCBs, dioxins...
I don’t eat the shells of those animals… so no, you’re wrong.
Great video, Mic, as always!! Thanks! But my husband, who is a botanist profesor, said the picture you showed is actually from Alfred Russel Wallace hehe
What is wrong with beans??
For the global nutrition problem.. I dunno. I don’t think pretty wide areas of the developing world can transition to veganism yet. It would help if the developed world makes this transition first. What if it is not a matter of finding alternative animal sources but, rather, convincing the majority of the developed world to switch? If you could then pull even half the population of China, and increase India’s 24% vegetarian population to 50%.. The vast majority of farmed and hunted animal deaths would be stopped.
People are just extremely psychologically invested in meat with as many meals as possible. It’s not even an old thing. It probably goes back to post-WW2 for most of the planet’s cultures. We can reset this.
Absolutely no. And not because of ethics, because that is disgusting
Are those who make fun of us as “Soy Boys” and won’t even taste a vegan burger which many hamburger fast food restaurants offer, they are going to eat crickets? Their paranoia over soy is outrageous. It took a while for me to feel comfortable with soy as now I am eating more tofu and edamame than I did before due to the giving me more relief from the side effects of menopause.
I put a link to the YT video on that clip from the movie “Dracula: Dead and Loving it” where Renfield struggles to hide that he has a half eaten cricket struggling to get out of his mouth in one scene. Very funny, of course, it is a Mel Brooks film. th-cam.com/video/RKbr8arXVJM/w-d-xo.html
We could call the eating of insects as a “pest-atarian”. LOL! There was also the farming of worms as Wendy’s Hamburgers, did they not try a “worm burger” quite a while ago, like 1978”. To say the least the public was not on board and the got rid of it. I never tasted one? Did anyone try that? Just wondering.
As far as grinding up crickets for food, is the exoskeleton of the insect digestible? I understood we can’t digest chitin. Would we have to take an enzyme to aid in digestion of chitin? Not that I want to eat crickets, I don’t. Been vegan for 10 years, managing fine with my health currently. Just like adding to my general knowledge.
Bug off! This is too much to handle. I'm shocked but also laughing.
Very good overview. It surprised me too that there's high certainty they feel pain & suffering. Will insects them more from now on!
That Vegan Couple did a podcast once with a guy who studied insects and he said flies give oral to each other. I mean, I can't believe we have to do these horrible experiments on insects just to prove something we can see with our own eyes. Even if they don't feel pain (which they obviously do), why should we take away their pleasure? Humans just want to (literally in this case) step on other people. It boosts our egos for some evil reason.
Also, I would like a video on the cordyceps virus from The Last of Us. That show made grain out to be the bad guy, but we vegans, we all know. We know where diseases are most likely to come from. Oh, we know.
It just makes more sense that heat-enduring cordyceps would develop in a warm climate and spread through something commonly consumed like wheat flour, where they are already often found anyway. It would be implausible that this should happen through animal farming. This series is not making a statement regarding the next most likely pandemic in the world and there's no point in regarding it as such.
@@discursion don't currently existing carnivorous cordyceps currently propagate via insect bodies? For example, they infect ants, force them to climb to the top of trees, then spore out of their heads, so it rains down to infect ants on the ground.
I'm not sure it makes sense that grain would be the source. It makes more sense that animals (especially insects) would be, since there are already similar fungi all across the world that currently prey on them.
It's a much smaller leap for a organism to switch/expand to another animal as prey, than to jump from plants directly to mammals/humans.
@@brandygibson5003 it’s science fiction 😮
@@residentjess no shit.
@@brandygibson5003 You're right, on the evolution standpoint it makes more sense. The show envisions that this specie evolved "naturally" somewhere in Jakarta to adapt to bigger organisms and warmer climates, and ultimately found itself introduced in the wheat flour production chain (which is plausible as it already does). However, the show does not specify how that evolution happened to begin with, so it might very well be that these cordycepts evolved through insects in wheat fields as well as surrounding animal farms.
The issue the show encounters with that scenario is that humans would have been alerted of the infection on animals. The flour scenario allows for an immediate global catastrophe to take place. Rather, I think the most likely sequence of events here would be one in which some wild animals perpetuated cycles of infections outside of humanity's reach, and the fungus was suddenly introduced in our food supply chain.
It seems like the only credible way the authors could have introduced this sudden global pandemic (also it's very different from an airborne disease, so the spread factor would be quite low).
What do you think?
I don’t understand the issue of if an insect feels pain when you kill it. Swatting a mosquito is as quick and painless a death as possible and all the bugs have to eventually die anyways. If anything, swatting a fly or a mosquito is more humane than letting it die a slow painful death.
Bugger that, I will stick with my steak.
Humans should just leave the animals and nature alone! 👉 The Connections (2021) [short documentary] 🔥
Hemp and microgreens could save the world. lets bugs be bugs. to the WEF tho we are the bugs that need exterminating
You’re either vegan or you’re not. Don’t use the suffix ‘vegan’ when you aren’t.
Humans should just leave the animals and nature alone! 👉 The Connections (2021) [short documentary] 🔥
@@VeganSemihCyprus33 Leave nature alone? I guess you won't be eating plants then.
Hi Mic, Happy Saturday.
Aren't insects poisonous in food level amounts?
Silver lining, the people who start eating bugs will die.
I never felt guilty about swatting at mosquitos. They drew blood first and usually escape anyway. But I have considered that we are thereby selecting the fastest mosquitos for survival, making them more and more annoying to humans over time.
Human blood is a very, very small portion of a mosquitoes food. Us swatting them has no impact on the trajectory of their evolution. They feed primarily on other animals.
@@Mousehansen I meant that the ones we succeed in killing are the slower ones, and they are therefore selected out of the ongoing gene pool.
(The "drew blood" part was just about how I don't feel guilty for trying to defend myself. Nothing to do with the evolutionary speculation.)
I don't have children so they are safe from this terror.
Nothing to do with the video but supporting Rowling is highly problematic because she supports anti trans legislation. Other than that I am glad that you made a video on insects because they are so often touted as the future of food.
insects do feel pain, hence bug killers attacking their central nervous system.
@Mic the Vegan: I love your channel! I think you should do another video on insects as protein alternatives though. The questions I hope you could address are these:
-for people who are allergic to nuts and beans, are insects a better option than animal proteins?
-for people who are keto (or Republican or stupid, etc.) and cannot be convinced to ever consider veganism, could eating insects be a much better alternative to meat? Environmental impact?
-Could insects be a good potential for cat food and dog foods and how insect proteins compare to animal proteins. Other nutrients for cats?
I think the debate over feeling pain is beside the point because everything must die. I quick painless kill is probably more humane than a slow painful death.
Thanks for considering this. You do awesome work! I love your content. ❤
No, because insects may contain Horse Hair Worms.
When I walk my dog she loves to catch grasshoppers as a quick snack. 🦗🐕
I can't believe some people's desire to commit violence. Just eat beans seeds nuts grains.
Life is not worth living if we have to eat bugs.
entovegans aren't a thing because bugs are sentient
As a tourist curiosity in East Asia, why not? Or if I I found myself in the hypothetical situation where I had to choose between steak and grasshopper, it's a bo brainer, but... What's wrong with walnuts and lentils?
*World Economic Forum has entered the chat*
Protein is overrated, you do not need that much. I use cronometer and according to my personal diet which is specialized for anti aging and heavily based on raw veganism, I get much more protein than I need. Most bodybuilders who base their diet on protein, after the age of 30 look like they are 45, too many wrinkles, bad rough skin, premature aging. They look horrible. But its not their fault, reading more and more, its the fault of trainers and doctors, they seriously fucked up men and their health, those "professionals". Horrible mentality and belief system.
All that protein just makes them grow and grow and reach the Hayflick limit sooner. That's why Arnold Schwarzenegger is the only old bodybuilder, he went vegan in time ;).
Very interesting video! I'm a vegan so I don't eat insects, but up until this point my reasoning was more because it's really easy to avoid them, not because I had strong ethical issues against eating insects. This video was really informative on that last part!
I will likely still be swatting musquitos that try to bite me or spiders that come too close to me though (im a big aragnophobe). But I'm not going out of my way to do it.
16:19 EXACTLY
My position as well, let’s just eat plants 🌱 ❤
No no no. I will stick with plants.
I wonder how the insect proteins compare to animal proteins. I wonder if it could be good for cat food or dog food.
I had an experience with a cucumber beetle twice. The first time I found it on my produce that I had gotten out of the garden. I held it between my thumb and my finger before I put it outside. It was actually making noises that I could hear. I tried to record it but it was too low of a noise for my microphone to pick up. It happened again in the garden because I wanted to test it out that I wasn't hearing things. It did it again, and I am thinking it thought I was going to hurt it. I definitely think they can feel things.
I despise people who say "i'm vegan except on fridays, i eat fish" but i myself put the limit at mosquitoes. I prefer to kill one than be bitten.
Though i prepared mosquito screens last summer, to avoid the problem altogether, but it seems that they disapeared from my city, now ...
good video as always!
I don't understand how carnist people prefer eating bugs rather than be vegans: this is something stupid.
"Can it feel pain" always sounded dumb to me.
If you mean in a "centralized way", then relatively not much feels pain, but if we describe in in a "reaction to damage" then pretty much everything but simple viruses feel pain.
Plants have reactions to damage which can prepare the rest of the plant to the trauma and singled-celled organisms too feel pain and present to behaviors, state, which we may even start to call emotions, like fear.
Personally to me the issues with eathing things are 2:
1) Is it a person?
2) How can I end up eating it causing it the least amount of pain possible?
Environmental sustainability is also an issue, but it comes after the first two (talking about mass-farming martian UFO pilots ain't really something that should be initiated).
Mic the Vegan, do you think the word "vegan" should be put to rest and changed to "cruelty free"?
Maybe this was a better idea from the get go, not so easy to "gloss" over by omni's.
Entotarian. Not vegan. But uhm...just eat plants 🤷
Great coverage on all the questions I had on this topic Mic. Thanks for covering this and as usual citing your thousand-ish sources!!
This reminds me of how some use borax as an insect deterrent. I was told it gets into the joints of insects and being activated by water cause an arthritic type sensation in the joint. This discomfort is what drives them away. Not a scientific comment here. But I think discomfort can be translated into pain.
Insects compared to animals…. When insects are, in fact, ANIMALS.
As a vegan, my personal take on insects (and all animals) is this: if an animal’s trying to bite me, I will defend myself, which may include killing her. If animals are posing a threat to my health through spreading bacteria in my home, I’ll do my best to deter them and/or trap and release them far away from my home, but if that isn’t possible, needs must. If an animal is just minding her own business outside of my home, I leave her alone.
If any of you have kinder ideas to deal with animals like roaches, mosquitos, and flies (bearing in mind crowded city conditions), do let me know! If there were a better alternative to killing or poison, I love to use it.
I adore insects, they are so adorable. As an Autistic man, when I was a child, I found myself fascinated with them (One of those weird Autistic obsessions, if you know, you know). I'd handle wild insects, and be amazed. I'm still amazed today. Spending time watching them going about their little lives, you realize how complex they are. Even now, I will never harm an insect, when they get trapped in my home, I quickly catch and release them (Yes, even wasps). They aren't as intelligent as other species, but it costs nothing to show a little kindness towards other earthlings. Insects are so important to the environment, we aught to respect them more.
Cordyceps zombie apocalypse....no thanks. Experts can be wrong sometimes. Lets just eat plants
Protein obsession leads some down strange paths.
My first thought was there was no way they could match plants for GHG since you are realistically going to feed them plants and conversion is never going to be 100% efficient.
I would only eat insects if I was literally in a starvation situation, and it was that or starve. When I can choose between grains, beans, fruits, vegetables OR insects, there is no reason I would eat insects.
The only reason I can image for investment in this, is faulty belief in the need for "Protein Foods".
Great video as always.
I'm a vegan but I do buy insects, because I have three large breed rescue dogs that have struggled on a vegan diet. If I have to buy an animal protein for them I would like to pick the least sentient, most sustainable possible source. Insects may also be a good solution for cats, as vegan diets can cause serious health risks in cats. The pet food I buy is formulated by vets to meet all of a dogs nutritional needs. I personally don't want to consume bugs in any high amounts but for my pets, I think it is genuinely one of the best options.
I've said it in your comments before. Eating insects causes massively more individual death than other animals. My point is that even if they did suffer less each, they suffer much more total.
After watching through, you got it too, good.
Even if a human couldn’t feel pain, it would still be wrong to eat them.
Lil buggies are clearly sentient, so that should be all that matters.
But you'll gladly kill them to stop them from destroying your prescious vegetable..
It can be safely assumed that all living creatures feel pain. It is about survival. We all do what we can to avoid pain and death.
Ick, just ick.
I'm not fully vegetarian, I eat small amounts of seafood, but I am thinking of reducing it down to bivalves only. I will continue to eat dairy and eggs.
I’ve seen 2 short videos from 2 different scientists that said that bugs are actually toxic for human consumption. Sorry I didn’t keep the videos.
Whether or not they feel just as much pain as we do. Hypothetically, if it turns out they do not feel pain at all, it’s likely they are still able to sense their body has been harmed. Which wouldn’t make it lesser at all. They in that case, experience harm differently
That is ridiculous! You can’t call yourself a vegan or have the word there if you eat bugs! I can’t believe some people are so brainwashed that they can not believe they can live perfect healthy without eating some type of sentient being. By nature we are herbivores. We have no slicing molars and can move our jaw from side to side. Omnivores have slicing molars and they can taste raw meat because they have the right taste buds. We became meat eaters out of survival. And if we were omnivores, we could live on plants alone and live well. Pandas are true omnivores. They have the slicing molars and their jaws can’t move side to side. And the strength of their jaws are much stronger than ours to crush through bone. Yet, probably out of survival, they decided not just to eat a balanced plant diet, but a strict diet of bamboos only. Why were they able to do this!? Because nobody told them they couldn’t!
@Cthvuncuh that is terrible incorrect. It does make any sense to have herbivore jaws and lion like digestive track. Our digestive track is no way like lions of pandas. It is long not short. And herbivores can eat meat. They just get the same health problems we get. The meat and dairy sometimes feeds cows to cows. Check your sources before posting.
@Cthvuncuh it is if you believe meat and dairy propaganda. Plant based individuals are not the ones suffering from all the diseases carnist suffer. And take a good look at our teeth. WE HAVE NO SLICING MOLARS. Our digestive track is not at all like predators. It is long not short. I do my homework since I am an independent scientist.
I created the most accurate theory of gravity ever made. I placed all factors of gravity under one equation and accidentally created a theory of how the universe works and how the Big Bang happens. All of the real geniuses I know were plant based. Including Leonardo DaVinci and Tesla.
You are begin to sound like a troll.
@Cthvuncuh it is if you believe meat and dairy propaganda. Plant based individuals are not the ones suffering from all the diseases carnist suffer. And take a good look at our teeth. WE HAVE NO SLICING MOLARS. Our digestive track is not at all like predators. It is long not short. I do my homework since I am an independent scientist.
I created the most accurate theory of gravity ever made. I placed all factors of gravity under one equation and accidentally created a theory of how the universe works and how the Big Bang happens. All of the real geniuses I know were plant based. Including Leonardo DaVinci and Tesla.
You are begin to sound like a troll.
@Cthvuncuh Again, you have been seeing fake vegan ASTROTURFING on TH-cam. That is not at all true. And I enjoy food more now than when I was a meat eater. This is because the taste buds adapt. And they adapt better since I began to eat my biological diet.
You know you are making less sense now and moving into troll territory stating nonsense. Right....right!
This is a waste of my time. I know by now no matter the fact, you will continue to waste my time.
Yeah and also pandas die of starvation in the wild cause sometimes they can't eat the right kind of bamboo..at certain times
The insect conversation no one wants to have is if honey is any worse than sugar for insects. Considering land and pesticide use, it's arguable that raw local honey might be less harmful. In addition, someone consuming excessive amounts of refined calories is also doing far more harm to insects and negligently using up more deforested land. Obesity is a disease but most people can moderate their consumption for a good cause.
Regarding the death toll or if it's specist to not care about insects, I believe that the number of neurons matters... particularly in the brain. There's also the fact that insects have to capacity to cause catastrophes for our civilization.
I might have considered eating bugs when i was still searching and believed i needed animal protein. But now that i'm happily eating my starches, fruit and vegetables. No way. It's also not vegan. Clip of ladybug playing: th-cam.com/video/aOG557pk28E/w-d-xo.html There is a lot more going on in those little heads than we give them credit for (what else is new).
Hello dear Mic.
Im really interested what ur daily calorie intake carbs,fats,protein?
Thanks 🙏
Bugs have the perfect nutritent ratio so as long as you eat enough you'll be OK 👍
@@abcdefg-xm7dc i know..
I was askin him about his calroeis because vegan diet/unprocessed foods even with a lot of eating sometimes is difficult to consume all needed calories...
What's ur daily calorie intake
@rn5697 that's not true. I'm currently eating at a calorie deficit but still get 100% of my nutrients. Put your meals into a calorie counter you'll see how healthy plant foods are.
@@abcdefg-xm7dc ty ill try it... what's ur calorie intake?
@@rn5697 look up your own calorie requirements
This really bugs me! To bee or not to bee? Plants and beans are better. Huhu grubs are not bad, a bit like smooth peanut butter.
You support the queen of transphobia?
JKR has been one of the most influential voices fighting against trans rights and trans Healthcare.
Okay, and hear me out here, there are even some plants that can ‘feel pain’ and respond to damage by producing toxins and/or sending out distress signals through mycelium networks in the soil, meaning that some plants even exhibit a type of ‘social behavior’. You can tell me that plant sentience is insanity and I would say it depends on the threshold - all organisms, including plants, respond to stimuli in complex and fascinating ways. Obviously it is not possible to eliminate all consumption of all organisms, but it really puts into perspective what kind of respect we should have for the organisms we do consume.
I am still vegan, and I do not use animal products including those produced by insects like honey, but I think it’s a grey area as to what is and is not ethical use of other organisms. Ultimately our threshold for sentience is always going to be human-centric and many different organisms can experience suffering in ways we may not immediately recognize. There isn’t really such thing as an ‘objective morality’ where we can draw solid lines between a organisms that are worth our care and empathy and organisms that are not.
"and I do not use animal products including those produced by insects like honey,"
Animal based stearic acid (livestock tallow) and animal based activated carbon (livestock bones) are the industry standard in processor manufacturing.
How did you comment without using something with a processor? Smoke signals?
Just another wannabe pushing nonsense.
This was truly useful. Thnk you so much! I have always wondered abt this issue, especially now seeing all those dog food products based on insects.
One area I actually think this bug agriculture could be especially helpful is food for carnivorous animals. Europe has been producing insect based cat food for years - US brands are only just now experimenting with it. It’s not perfect but a lot less harmful than traditional cat food. (And I know there are vegan cat foods but they are honestly all extremely questionable and sketchy. Hardly any legitimate studies on it outside of surveys which are nearly useless)
What about pupea? To my knowledge their central nervous system is degenerated. I read some research which showed that silkworm pupea contain DHA and arachidonic acid. By using e.g. silkworm pupea oil and powder one could potentially cover all carninutrients (meatbased bioactive conpunds) and essential fatty acids. Some silkworm species eat verry laurel, thus you could easily keep the caterpillars at home till they go into metamorphosis.
Yeah that’s a no for me
Question : What's more important from an ethical perspective.
Lowering numbers of animals killed,
or lower the amount of time these animals lose when we kill them?