我们都应该吃昆虫吗？：英语精读讲义

Many people find the very thought of insects disgusting, 短語搭配

很多人一想到昆虫就觉得恶心，

especially when they're in your mouth.

尤其是当它们进到嘴里时。

But have you ever considered that insects could be more nutritious, 講解

但你有没有想过，昆虫可能营养更丰富、

environmentally friendly,

对环境更友好，

and abundant than most other foods?

而且供应也比大多数其他食物更充足？

Should we all be eating insects? 表達脈絡

我们是不是都该吃昆虫？

Compare 100 g of crickets to 100 g of chicken, 表達脈絡

把100克蟋蟀与100克鸡肉、

beef, or pork,

牛肉或猪肉比较一下，

and you'll find that they have comparable protein content,

你会发现，它们的蛋白质含量不相上下，

but crickets are much higher in essential vitamins and minerals such as calcium, 短語搭配

但蟋蟀的必需维生素和矿物质含量要高得多，比如钙、

zinc, and iron.

锌和铁。

Similarly,

同样，

insects like mealworms are low in fat and contain large amounts of fiber. 短語搭配

黄粉虫等昆虫脂肪含量低，却富含纤维。

But that's not the only reason to incorporate them into your diet. 講解

但这并不是把它们纳入日常饮食的唯一理由。

Currently,

目前，

there are 1.53 billion hectares of cropland

地球上有15.3亿公顷耕地，

and 3.38 billion hectares of pastures covering our Earth.

以及33.8亿公顷牧场。

Essentially,

也就是说，

38% of the land you see on a map

地图上可见的土地中，有38%

is used for agriculture and farming.

被用于农业和畜牧业。

But where it takes 200 square meters of land to grow 1 lb of beef, 語法

生产1磅牛肉需要200平方米土地，

it only takes 15 square meters to grow 1 lb of crickets.

而生产1磅蟋蟀只需要15平方米。

Furthermore, by 2025,

此外，到2025年，

it's expected that 1.8 billion people will live in areas 語法

预计将有18亿人生活在

with little to no fresh water. 短語搭配

淡水很少甚至完全没有淡水的地区。

And yet, 表達脈絡

然而，

70% of our fresh water sources are used in agriculture alone.

单是农业就用掉了我们70%的淡水资源。

To produce 1 kg of beef,

生产1千克牛肉

it takes 22,000 L of water,

需要2.2万升水，

whereas 1 kg of pork takes 3,500 L, 表達脈絡

而1千克猪肉需要3500升，

and 1 kg of chicken takes 2,300 L.

1千克鸡肉则需要2300升。

But to make 1 kg of crickets,

但生产1千克蟋蟀

it only requires 1 L of water.

只需要1升水。

This is because insects can become fully hydrated

这是因为昆虫仅靠

just from the food that they eat.

自己吃的食物就能充分补充水分。

They're also more digestible.

它们也更容易消化。

In fact,

事实上，

80% of a cricket is edible and digestible

蟋蟀身体的80%都可以食用和消化，

compared to 50% of a chicken and 40% of cattle. 短語搭配

相比之下，鸡只有50%，牛只有40%。

And it's not like our mouths have never tasted insects before. 語氣意圖

而且，我们也不是从来没吃过昆虫。

For every 100 g of spinach,

每100克菠菜中，

50 small insects like aphids, thrips,

允许含有50只蚜虫、蓟马

and mites are permitted. 文化背景

和螨虫之类的小昆虫。

Peanut butter is allowed to contain roughly 30 insect fragments

每100克花生酱中允许含有大约30个昆虫碎片，

such as heads,

比如头部、

bodies, or legs per 100 g,

躯干或腿。

and even the hops used to make your favorite beer 語法

而且，就连用来酿造你最爱啤酒的啤酒花，

can contain 250 aphids per 100 g.

每100克也可能含有250只蚜虫。

Yep,

没错，

your summer beer may be spiked with a little more bug juice 用詞

你的夏日啤酒里混入的“虫汁”可能

than you anticipated.

比你预想的还要多一点。

So, why aren't we eating insects?

那么，我们为什么不吃昆虫呢？

They're actually consumed in some parts of Asia, 短語搭配

亚洲一些地区其实会食用昆虫，

Latin America, and Africa.

拉丁美洲和非洲也是如此。

In fact,

事实上，

the capital of Congo has households eating 300 g of caterpillars a week,

刚果首都的家庭每周会吃掉300克毛毛虫，

which is 96 tons of caterpillars every year.

全年总共会吃掉96吨毛毛虫。

But much of the Western world is used to screaming in disgust 講解

但西方世界的大多数人若是

if they find a bug in their salad.

在沙拉里发现虫子，往往会恶心得尖叫。

This may be because Western culinary traditions have spawned out of colder climates 表達脈絡

这可能是因为西方饮食传统起源于更寒冷的气候，

with less insects,

那里昆虫较少，

increased farming,

农业更发达，

and larger animals to eat.

也有体型更大的动物可供食用。

As Europeans began to colonize the world,

随着欧洲人开始在世界各地殖民，

they contextualized bug eating as savage and primitive 用詞

他们把吃虫视为野蛮而原始的行为，

because they observed many indigenous people doing it.

因为他们看到许多原住民都这样做。

Little did they know, 語法

他们哪里知道，

bugs are actually extremely nutritious.

昆虫其实营养极其丰富。

But while the idea of eating insects may literally be hard to swallow, 習語

虽然吃昆虫这个想法可能真的让人难以下咽，

as recipes are created, 表達脈絡

但随着新食谱不断问世，

insect processing food technology evolves,

昆虫食品加工技术不断发展，

and our mindsets adapt,

我们的观念也逐渐改变，

maybe insects will become the superfood of the future. 用詞

也许昆虫会成为未来的超级食物。

Look out, 語氣意圖

当心了，

Greek yogurt and kale,

希腊酸奶和羽衣甘蓝，

There are some new kids in town. 習語

新来的对手登场了。

We actually challenged ourselves to chomp down on some bugs, 講解

我们还挑战了自己，硬着头皮吃下几只虫子，

try out a few recipes, 短語動詞

试了几种食谱，

and eat things like cookies and snack bars

还吃了曲奇和零食棒之类的食品，

using insect flour in our latest AsapTHOUGHT video. 用詞

它们都由昆虫粉制成，相关内容就在最新一期AsapTHOUGHT视频中。

We also discuss the role and potential for insects

我们还探讨了昆虫的作用与潜力，

in helping to solve world hunger.

看它们如何帮助解决全球饥饿问题。

Make sure to click the screen or the link in the description below

记得点击画面或下方说明栏中的链接，

to check it out.

前往观看。

And subscribe for more weekly science videos.

还请订阅，收看更多每周更新的科学视频。