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Updated December 28th, 2020 at 18:21 IST

Mexico restaurant sells 'grasshopper meals' as wholesome, protein-rich diet

Mexico restaurant ‘Chapi’ sold edible-grasshopper dishes as firm owners advocated the nutritional benefits of eating insects in several posts on Instagram.

Reported by: Zaini Majeed
Mexico
| Image:self
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As several research reports previously indicated that the insects in meals attributed to the higher protein digestibility, a restaurant in Mexico ‘Chapi’ has now resorted to selling grasshopper diets on its menu. The company started an Instagram page listing myriad of dishes cooked out of the ‘unique’ ingredient—grasshoppers. With an aim to provide an environmental-friendly and nutritionally balanced level of protein intake, the restaurant founders claimed that the insect-based diet helped the firm reduce the carbon footprint, citing 100 grams grasshopper meal generating carbon approximately 14 times lesser than meat. ‘Chapi’ restaurant sold edible-grasshopper dishes as the firm owners advocated the nutritional benefits of eating insects in several posts on the restaurant’s official Instagram handle. 

In Mexico, the tradition of edible insects in gourmet known as the Entomophagy is widely popular across many states in central and southern Mexico, mainly in cities such as Oaxaca, Guerrero, Chiapas, Campeche, Puebla, and others. Chefs at several popular specialized restaurants make dishes out of the edible bugs for protein content and flavour, according to several local tourism reports. The grasshoppers are intentionally reared in alfalfa fields as a food source and are widely sold across streets by the vendors as a snack such as quesadillas, tacos, and sprinkled on guacamole, a popular Mexican dish. Chapi, started by a Mexican trio, informs its audience alongside a video post that they add grasshoppers in the meals to provide the consumers a ‘wholesome meal’ which has a dietary worth, adding that the insect is easy with respect to cultivation and processing for the recipes. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Chapi (@chapi_mx)

Read: France: World's Biggest Insect Farm To Come Up Soon; Aims To Meet Global Food Demands

Read: Danish Mayfly Named 2021 Insect Of The Year, Here's What Makes It Unique

Sustainable protein 

The restaurant’s name ‘Chapi’ has been derived from the word ‘Chauplin’ that translates to ‘grasshopper’, according to the company. Mexico has 300 to 550 species of edible insects, more than any other country, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) informed in a report, adding that the practice of entomophagy or the insect-eating has been a promising source of sustainable protein.“The case needs to be made to consumers that eating insects is not only good for their health, it is good for the planet,” the FAO report suggested. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Chapi (@chapi_mx)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Chapi (@chapi_mx)

Read: Researchers Unearth 'well-preserved' Snack Bar In Italy's Pompeii

Read: UK To Ban 'buy One Get One' And Free Refills On Unhealthy Food Items From April 2022

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Published December 28th, 2020 at 18:23 IST

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