Dr. Elena Tikhomirova, a Russian nutrition expert, announced that there is no need to consume crickets and worms as suggested by the European Commission's initiative. In her comments to the newspaper "Izvestia" regarding the Commission's proposal to eat crickets, mealworms, and locusts, she notes that insects are indeed edible. However, in today’s world, there is no necessity for this as the food market is filled with various food products.
She states, "The discussion about using insects in diets has been around for a long time in different nutritional institutions worldwide. Even Russian academic Victor Tutlyan declared that in the event of nutrition problems, we would eat minced locusts without any harm." According to her, many specialized food institutions have "secret" food innovations for emergencies. For example, ground insect tissues are completely edible and serve as an important source of proteins, along with a significant amount of chitin, which acts as dietary fiber.
She further explains that thanks to industrial development, it has become possible to take any animal, insect, or shellfish and, through an extraction process, obtain a very good mix of nutrients from them. Tikhomirova emphasizes that the food market today is abundant with various materials, so the discussion is not about the use of insects.
She says, "Innovations related to eating insects have always existed and will continue, not only involving insects but even 'inedible organisms' that are always present for emergencies and disasters, when a person is on the brink of survival. However, food is currently available in the world. But if someone in the world wants to eat moths, that is their choice and desire. As long as there are plenty of products in the market, I believe there’s no need to do so."
