In the contemporary societal landscape, there is an ongoing debate as to whether edible insects can be used as a food source or if the usage of these insects will be unhealthy and detrimental to the nature. These contradictory statements create contention that requires comprehensive explanation.
Proponents of the edible insects being used as a food source have manifold reasons to back up their stance. Firstly, insects are affluent in protein, thus fulfilling the major bodily need. Moreover, insects can be harvested just like crops so the production quantity can be massive. For example, in China, they have big farms for incubating the larva of insects, so they can harvest at a tremendous rate for their huge population. Secondly, edible insect harvesting is more eco-friendly compared to traditional crop farming. Old-school farming techniques requires numerous resources that are already scare. Additionally, insect harvesting is better than animal slaughter or butchery, beacuse it generates less carbon footprint and minimal pollution while production.
On the other hand, opponents of the insect harvesting abide by the notion of nature conservation and inclusivity. They believe that harvesting of insects might seem less pollutant, but it has some critical impacts on nature that cannot be ignored. Procedures used for the production of edible insects are very intricate and require a lot of chemicals to replicate their natural habitat; and any small idiosyncrasy might impact our ecosystem adversely. Furthermore, producing insects to fulfill the growing demand of food is just eccentric, as the majority of the society is turning either vegan or vegetarian. So any alterations in food prodcution should include this part of the population as well.
In conclusion, it is imperative that growing population has increased the need for food, but transitioning to edible insects might be an ephemeral solution. Since, a lot of people might never even opt for insects as a food source and seek for other alternatives. Although, insect harvesting for eating might have more benefits compared to negatives, but it cannot be ignored.