You should probably grab a barf bag before you continue reading. No, for real. We’ll wait.
Got one? Good.
After seeing a product on Shark Tank, PEOPLE ARE EATING BUGS … ON PURPOSE! Chirps is a new brand of chips made from crushed up CRICKETS. Like … WHY?!?!?!
According to the Chirps website, the company is killing bugs and crushing crickets up into snacks such as chips because it’s more environmentally sustainable than killing cows for meat and contains more protein than beef. This may be true—51 percent or more of global greenhouse gasses are caused by animal agriculture—but do you know what else is true? YOU DON’T HAVE TO EAT BUGS TO SAVE THE PLANET AND GET PROTEIN. It’s great that people are thinking about ways to help the environment, but you really, really don’t need to eat bugs to do it. All you have to do is go vegan. Trust us.
Here are just a few things you can eat to save the planet and get a bunch of protein instead of dead bugs:
Tempeh Tacos
Protein: 31 g
Soy Beans
Protein: 29 g
Field Roast Sausages
Protein: 26 g
Beyond Burgers
Protein: 20 g
Garbanzo Beans
Protein: 15 g
Tofu Scramble
Protein: 10 g
Spaghetti
Protein: 8 g
Chirps also claims that its products are high in vitamin B12. Yes, vegans and vegetarians should be making sure they get enough of this essential vitamin (as EVERYONE should), but nobody needs to eat bugs to get it. That’s just disgusting.
Here’s where you can get B12 other than dead bugs:
Nutritional Yeast
Fortified Nondairy Milks
B12 Vitamin Supplements
Not only is it gross to eat bugs, it’s also really mean. Just because crickets are tiny doesn’t mean that they deserve to die. Like all animals, crickets have feelings, and they suffer when they’re killed. They definitely don’t want to be ground up and turned into chips.
Just because a company was on Shark Tank and has a “cute” name doesn’t mean that you should eat bugs because it tells you to. Vegan foods do a lot more good for your body and the planet than eating crushed-up crickets ever could.