DO YOU DARE?

Two Danish businesswomen want us to start eating insects. It's good for the environment, but can consumers get over the yuck factor?

- BY Bernd Hauser FROM FOR OUR PLANET

I'm standing with Malena Sigurgeirsdóttir in front of an enormous pan in a catering kitchen in Copenhagen as she flips sizzling "meatballs" the size of ping pong balls.

Before the tasting session, I made the mistake of doing some research and learnt that buffalo beetles live off feed scraps and chicken droppings on farms. But I can't think about that now; I'm determined to try Sigurgeirsdóttir's meatballs with an open mind. She and her business partner, Jessica Buhl-Nielsen, both in their early 30s, have big plans: to sell sustainable insect-based food products to the world. Not just because they will help fight climate change, but because they taste good.

Sigurgeirsdóttir places a steaming meatball on my plate. It gives a little when I press my fork into it, just like a conventional meatball. I put a morsel in my mouth. There are notes of umami and the slightest hint of iron. If I didn't know better, I wouldn't suspect that I am chewing ground-up bugs.

"To me, it tastes like mushroom, with a slightly nutty flavour," says Buhl-Nielsen. "Our meat has a protein content that's as high as or higher than ground beef. It also contains omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B12 and iron, which gives it a familiar meaty taste."

The two women founded their company, Hey Planet, in 2017 with a simple mission. "Climate change, species extinction, world hunger—our food shouldn't contribute to these crises any longer," Buhl-Nielsen explains. One third of the earth's arable land is used to grow livestock feed. In the European Union, the number is even higher: 60 per cent. At the same time, millions of people are starving in the Horn of Africa, which is experiencing its worst drought in 40 years.

"We already have a solution—plant-based food—but people also want animal protein," says Sigurgeirsdóttir. "Consumers and producers are still not considering insects as a solution."