In Mr. Matson’s seventh-grade geography class, students were given a strange opportunity: the chance to eat insects! The students were given this opportunity because according to some people, the main source of protein for humans by the year 2050 will be insects like mealworms, grasshoppers, and crickets. As one of the students who ate insects myself, I have only one word to describe their taste: unappealing. There was a random selection system, and I ended up with half of a grasshopper, a grasshopper head, and half of a grub, which included the head. The insects were dehydrated, which probably made them a little less gross, but they still were nowhere near good. The grasshopper had no flavor and was very dry, and while the grub was less dry, it still lacked flavor, and its head was very hard and crunchy. 

One of the students who ate insects, Keagan Dobo, described the taste of his particular bug as tasting “like overly-spiced cashew, with a flaky and crunchy outer. The aftertaste was like a raunchy, garlic, metallic taste.” When asked if he was nervous, Keagan said, “I wasn’t really nervous, I mean, people across the world eat them.” 

When asked what he thought of the students who tried bugs, Mr. Matson described them as “Brave. Adventurous. Willing to take chances.” He said that he allowed the students to do this because “I believe teachers should do real things as much as they can.” He said that the insects came from Walmart, and he believes they were shipped here from Asia. 

Overall, this was a unique experience for me and I’m sure other students would say the same.