A segment that focused on how producing insects for human consumption could help combat climate change, was featured on CBS the past Saturday.

“We all know how important insects are for the environment, but climate researchers say bugs could be a game changer in the fight to protect the planet in ways you may not have imagined,” CBS Saturday Morning host Dana Jacobson said.

Reporter Tina Kraus explained, “Adding some insects to the mix is customary in the kitchen in some parts of the world. Now climate experts think the protein-packed pests could offer a real solution to the global food crisis. Scientists in Germany are not pushing to get the critters on your plate, they see another benefit.”

Reporter Tina Kraus said, “Adding some insects to the mix is customary in the kitchen in some parts of the world. Now climate experts think the protein-packed pests could offer a real solution to the global food crisis. Scientists in Germany are not pushing to get the critters on your plate, they see another benefit.”

Another scientist suggested that while many people are reluctant to consume bugs, insects can be a high-protein additive to feed farm animals.

“It’s estimated up to 1.2 trillion insects are raised on farms each year as companies race to find a high-protein, low-carbon solution to feed animals and the world’s population,” Kraus stated. 

The TV program cited climate experts and scientists as saying that using insects to replace meat could save the planet from imminent destruction.

“To have a more sustainable production of proteins, we need this and I see insects as a perfect tool,” one scientist argued. “And you can make so many things out of insects, and to make the world better.”

The experts argued that the insects were preferable to soybean and other plant-based proteins which have been “blamed for extensive deforestation”.

“We all know how important insects are for the environment, but climate researchers say bugs could be a game changer in the fight to protect the planet in ways you may not have imagined,” said CBS host Dana Jacobson.

While human consumption of Insects may be an environmental imperative, it is entirely forbidden by Torah law. 

You shall not eat, among all things that swarm upon the earth, anything that crawls on its belly, or anything that walks on fours, or anything that has many legs; for they are an abomination. Leviticus 11:42

The notable exception are locusts which are kosher, as per a verse in Leviticus:

Of these you may eat the following: locusts of every variety; all varieties of bald locust; crickets of every variety; and all varieties of grasshopper. But all other winged swarming things that have four legs shall be an abomination for you. Leviticus 11:22-23

While the average person may find the idea of eating bugs to be disgusting, Christians are also favorably predisposed towards eating locusts due to an account in the New Testament that John the Baptist,  an itinerant preacher in the early First Century CE who figured prominently in early Christianity, ate locusts dipped in honey.

Rabbi Yosef Berger, the rabbi of King David’s Tomb on Mount Zion, emphasized that the Torah explicitly forbids eating bugs. 

“It is by virtue of the mitzvah (Torah commandment) that we were redeemed from Egypt,” Rabbi Berger noted, quoting Leviticus.

For I Hashem am He who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God: you shall be holy, for I am holy.These are the instructions concerning animals, birds, all living creatures that move in water, and all creatures that swarm on earth,or distinguishing between the unclean and the clean, between the living things that may be eaten and the living things that may not be eaten. Leviticus 11:45-47

This can be compared to the Temple service.  In the north-east corner of the Temple was anm area where the priests who were unfit for other than menial services on account of bodily blemishes, inspected the wood destined for the altar, removing the worm-eaten wood as being unfit for the service. 

Rabbi Berger related a parable based on the Bible.

“Adam despaired when he was about to be banished from the Garden of Eden,” Rabbi Berger said. “He had a special status in the Garden since unlike the animals, he was forbidden from eating from the Tree of Knowledge. He was afraid that outside of the Garden, he would be just like all the animals. God despised the snake and therefore told him that he could eat anything, even the dust.”

“When the Jews left Egypt, God showed his special love for his people by restricting them to clean food. By promoting bugs for human consumption, the EU is showing its contempt for its own people.”

“So when told Man that he was restricted in what he could eat, that he could only eat from the sweat of his brow, Adam was relieved since, through this restriction, God showed that he still loved Man especially. Animals do not have to cook their food, eat in the field, or harvest. Man is special.”