Is it okay for vegans to eat insects?

Question

I know this question from someone named "The Baconator" might seem anti-vegan or something but I'm legitimately interested to know. I might convert if I could eat bugs, that's all I'm saying.

Answer 1

No I don't think so.. And why would you want to any way?

Answer 2

animals VS insects

lets see.. both are alive, both need to eat to survive, both sexually procriate

hmm.. maybe there isnt such a difference between insects and animals... hmmm...

if you are a vegan why would you eat insects...

unless you go through a not-so-vegan period...

however i wouldnt eat an insect vegan or not...

unless i was standed on a island and had already eaten all the coconuts and bananas

Answer 3

The Government allows so much bug protein!*

Answer 4

lol... bugs aren't animals? what kingdom are they classified in if not animalia?

I need to take a zoology class? sounds like maybe you shouldn't have slept through yours

Edit: Here it is in a nutshell for me. However, you must keep three things in mind first. I am a vegetarian not a vegan. The reason I don't eat animals has nothing to do with protection issues. I don't try and speak for others as I am not a typical vegetarian; actually far from it.

That being said.......

"So basically anything that isnt a plant is non edible for vegans." ...again, you speak of zoology and yet you haven't the capacity to grasp basic biology.

Vegetarians as well as vegans are concerned with Kingdom Animalia. Not with Plantae, Monera, Protista, or  Fungi. Each has their own reason for this as they are individuals. Things range from classifying it by neuronal tissue, (having eyes (which I don't understand), etc. forever.

For me, it's purely health reasons that drive me. I have studied far too much about the body and the more I studied the more I realized both that the eating of animals has the highest health risk involved, unless of course you are eating belladonna or things of that nature, and that I can live without it just fine. And while I know that there are less problematic animals to eat that can prove quite healthy, such as fish(if you exclude potential heavy metal poisoning which is very rare), I still don't eat any of them because, basically, I know me. I eat tuna for a while and before you know it I'm ordering the bbq ribs. So I decided the best way for me to eliminate the problem all together was to add the word vegetarian to the many words I would use to describe me. It's by pure definiton, vegetarians do not eat animals that I live by. Naturally that translates in taxonomy to Kingdom Animalia. There are four other kingdoms that are not off limits to me and one, plantae, I eat with a vengance.

Now, that is me. But you seem to be trolling for a reason to call another or have them realize that they are a hypocrite. If this is the case, I assure you that everyone here knows this. It's funny that only meat eaters come in here as if they have discovered something and wish to make aware to vegans something that they already know. Be reminded, they are laughing at you when you do this. Vegans are, by no means, oblivious to the fact that they are hipocritic as is everyone, and they do not excuse themselves for being such. The thing is, if you really want to understand what it means to be vegan you have to take a deeper look into what it really means to be vegan. In your haste, you have overlooked the mentality regarding animals as being, "doing the best I can to make a difference." There will always be bumps on the road but you deal with them as best you can to try and avoid them. That's what it means to be vegan, "am I doing all I can and still remaining able to function."

Does that answer your question?

Answer 5

Technically, no. It's an animal. Vegans don't eat animals or anything made from them

Answer 6

Most people eat insects every day, if they eat anything with food coloring in it.  Red food color is made from crushed cochineal beatles, and green food color is made from a type of fly wings.  (Google "carmine" which is the main component of red food dye)  Vegan, omnivore, or otherwise-if you eat "artificial" or "natural" colors, you eat insects

Answer 7

Technically, insects are animals. So vegetarians and vegans would not eat them intentionally. However, since they're everywhere and can be tiny, people eat them inadvertently with some frequency.

Answer 8

Edible insects; you may feel that these two words do not even belong in the same sentence. You have every right to be skeptical. In all probability, you have never deliberately eaten an insect. However you have probably inadvertently consumed over a pound of insects in your lifetime.

Your insect consumption adds up. Flour beetles, weevils, and other insect pests that infest granaries are milled along with the grain, finally ending up as tiny black specks in your piece of bread. Small grubs and other tiny insects can be found in your fruit and vegetables. Insects are especially common in canned and other types of processed food, and even in certain beverages; I once went on a tour of an apple orchard and while the group was viewing the area where they separate the rotten and bug infested fruits from the good ones, I asked the tour guide what they did with the bug infested apples. She told me that they use them to make cider; waste not, want not! It is virtually impossible that you have not ingested insects in one form or another during your lifetime. And it probably did not harm you, but instead did you some good by providing extra protein in your meal!



There are a number of points that I would like to make:  

Some insects are edible. In fact, most insects are edible, but there are a few species that are especially palatable, nutritious, and easily obtainable. I will concentrate on these.

Many species of insects are lower in fat, higher in protein, and have a better feed to meat ratio than beef, lamb, pork, or chicken.

Insects are tasty. Really! Even if you are too squeamish to have them as a main dish, you can make insect flour and add it to bread and other dishes for an added protein boost.

Insects are easy to raise. There is no manure forking. No hay bale lifting. No veterinary bills. You can raise them in an apartment without getting complaints.

Insects are beautiful. I think that all insects are beautiful, but most people I know will marvel at the iridescence of a butterfly, but shudder at the striping of a mealworm.

Most people do not mind butchering insects. The butchery of insects is very simple compared with that of cattle or poultry, and nowhere near as gory.

Raising insects is environmentally friendly. They require minimal space per pound of protein produced, have a better feed to meat ratio than any other animal you can raise, and are very low on the food chain. They are healthy, tasty, and have been utilized for the entire history of mankind (after all, it is easier to catch a grub than a mammoth).

Also, as far as I know, no animal rights activists object to the eating of insects. You don't need to destroy any wildlife habitat to eat insects, and you can incorporate insects and earthworms into a recycling program......vegetable waste in, yummy insect protein out.



O.K., O.K., I admit the slight possibility of disadvantages...  

The only real problem you may run into while utilizing insect protein is the lack of social acceptance. That is why we sensible insect eaters must make it our duty to educate the public about the value of insect protein. You may encounter widespread disbelief, "You're kidding me. You don't eat insects!", revulsion "Yuck! You eat insects!?! ", and refusal "You will not ever get me to eat insects." Press on! Remember, insects are the food of the future, and you are paving the way for future generations.



Is there a better name for it than insect eating?  

Why yes, there is. The word is Entomophagy. You would think that a word this melodious would be in common usage, but sadly this is not the case. In fact, you probably have never heard this word before (unless you happen to be a friend of mine). Find ways to interject the word entomophagy in casual conversation, as in: "Did I ever tell you about the stunning array of culinary options revealed through the study of entomophagy ?"



Other Random Entomophagy Factoids  

In case you need a little more persuasion:

There are 1,462 recorded species of edible insects. Doubtless there are thousands more that simply have not been tasted yet.

100 grams of cricket contains: 121 calories, 12.9 grams of protein, 5.5 g. of fat, 5.1 g. of carbohydrates, 75.8 mg. calcium, 185.3 mg. of phosphorous, 9.5 mg. of iron, 0.36 mg. of thiamin, 1.09 mg. of riboflavin, and 3.10 mg. of niacin.

Compare this with ground beef, which, although it contains more protein (23.5 g.), also has 288.2 calories and a whopping 21.2 grams of fat!

Answer 9

Only if your OK with it, but technically that would be eating meat.

Answer 10

No.

But most processed foods contain insect parts so a lot of them do anyways.

Answer 11

uhm being vegan means not eating any animals or anything from the use of animals or taking like like honey,milk,eggs. and bugs are in the animal kingdom.so no.

sorry but i have to say.

stupid *** question.

Answer 12

Insects are part of the animal kingdom. It's you who needs to go to classes.

Vegans don't eat animal flesh.

Answer 13

1) insects are animals in the very basic division of "plant" and "animal"

2) If you intentionally eat bugs as your only animal food source you are not "vegan" within any mainstream definition of the word. You can also aways claim words for yourself though and create your own meaning, but it will likely garner you a few looks.

3. Eating bugs only would make you an insectivore. Lots of humans have taken advantage of insects as a large protein source

4. A lot of vegans care about insects. We might pay attention to factory farms more, but many (myself included) try to avoid killing bugs we encounter in our homes

5. However, in the utilitarian, Peter Singer scheme of things, you might argue that eating insects is less egregious than eating, say, a pig. That doesn't mean that insect eating is "okay", but it is one way of looking at it.