I’ve always found something enchanting in the idea of eating bugs. Partly for the exoticism, introducing new things into our diet that challenge chefs and provoke our taste buds. But more than that, there are unending benefits to the planet and our health that seem attractive when thinking about a growing population and limited resources.

Take for instance a cricket. The humble squeaker doesn’t have the most riveting life—it doesn’t feel pain quite the same way as mammals, and its lifespan is crushingly short, about three months. The horrifying conditions of some factory farms that raise pigs or cattle don’t apply to crickets or ants or earthworms. They  live in crowded conditions, practically on top of each other.

The only problem