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Sumber: BUGS, WORMS, AND WEEDS - WHAT TO EAT WHEN THE CUPBOARD IS BARE dan kompas.com
Bicara soal pasca bencana alam dahsyat atau kondisi perekonomian yang sangat sulit, ketika sudah tidak ada lagi makanan yang tersisa di rumah, di pasar, dan di toko, apa yang harus dilakukan? Makanlah rumput liar, tanaman liar, jamur, cacing, dan serangga, kata para alien Zeta. Para Zeta sangat merekomendasikan untuk memelihara cacing dan serangga (jengkerik, atau lainnya) serta menanam jamur sebagai sumber makanan penting karena praktis sebagai bagian dari persiapan menghadapi masa-masa sulit itu.
"Kecuali bagi sedikit orang saja yang telah mempersiapkan diri, manusia yang selamat dari bencana-bencana alam dahsyat akan dapati diri mereka tanpa makanan. Di kota-kota, hal ini akan terjadi dengan cepatnya, karena makanan segar atau beku akan membusuk akibat listrik padam total, sedangkan makanan kaleng dan kering tak bertahan lama.
Lalu apa? Area-area terpencil, dimana orang anggap akan menemukan kebun dan ternak yang berlimpah, juga tidak lebih baik. Kekeringan dan cuaca tak teratur akan telah mencapai puncaknya, tanpa perlu adanya bencana-bencana dahsyat. Berapa lama lagi seorang peternak akan memberikan rumput pada ternaknya? Ia akan memakan rumput itu sendiri beserta ternaknya, dan, ketika ia sudah cukup lapar, akan memakan pasangan ternaknya yang terakhir serta stok benih tanamannya. Habislah semuanya.
Kalau-kalau pembaca mengira bahwa bercocok tanam dan panen akan berlanjut seperti sebelumnya, mereka harus menyadari bahwa cuaca suram yang mengikuti sebuah bencana alam dahsyat adalah merusak tetumbuhan. Jika tanaman selamat dari kekeringan yang mendahului bencana alam dahsyat dan hujan batu es dan badai api dan angin-angin kencang yang terjadi selama bencana alam dahsyat, maka tanaman itu pastilah akan selamat dari banjir dan kurangnya sinar matahari yang terus-menerus. Tapi untuk sementara waktu, manusia akan kelaparan." [Terjemahan bebas dari ZetaTalk: Crop Failure, written July 15, 1995.]
"Bahan-bahan makanan yang akan tumbuh baik dalam cahaya suram dari matahari adalah jamur, cacing, dan berbagai serangga yang memakani jaringan sel mati. Setelah bencana-bencana alam dahsyat, serangga akan berlimpah, karena jaringan sel yang mati dari tetumbuhan maupun hewan ada dimana-mana. Trend ini dapat dimanfaatkan, meskipun hal ini seperti konsep yang mungkin sangat tidak disukai manusia yang tidak pernah memakan serangga. Larva, yang tumbuh di humus, dapat diolah menjadi puree (ditumbuk) atau sebagai sup krim, puding atau omellette oleh koki yang handal. Mereka yang memakan menu itu tidak akan pernah dapat menerka bahwa basis makanan itu bukanlah krim, susu, maupun telur." [Terjemahan bebas dari ZetaTalk: Crop Adjustments, written July 15, 1995.]Jenis-jenis makanan tersebut sudah umum bagi sebagian penduduk dunia dan tidak aneh bagi para petualang alam bebas. Berbagai menu lezat dapat dicontoh dari banyak negara yang pandai mengolah seperti misalnya Thailand, untuk menyebut satu saja.
National Wildlife Federation, Based on the book, Man Eating Bugs: The Art and Science of Eating Insects, December 1998: ... dragonflies are delicious. In Bali, an island in the Pacific Ocean. But why, you may ask, would anyone eat insects? Because the little flying buggers make a high-protein meal. And they're free for the catching! People in Bali go "fly fishing" with strips of palmwood. First they dip the strips in sticky sap. Next, they run through the rice fields, waving their sticky sticks. Dragonflies hit the sticks and get glued. Then the people fry the insects in coconut oil and eat them like candy. ... Indonesian children ... usually eat taro and yams, potato-like tubers. The tubers have lots of vitamins and carbohydrates but not much protein. So for a high protein snack, these kids hunt stinkbugs. They look for the bugs along forest trails. There, big kids climb trees to catch them. The big kids then hand the bugs down to younger children. To cook their catch, the kids stuff the bugs into bags made of leaves. Then they toss the bags into a fire. How do the bugs taste? One American said, "They were better than some worms I've tried." People in Indonesia eat other creepy crawlies as well, including the grubs .... They say they're chewy and taste like bacon.
People in Botswana (a country in southern Africa) eat mopane worms for the same reason that people in the United States eat hamburger - to get lots of protein. But mopane worms have three times as much protein as beef. The worms are really caterpillars of one of the largest moths in the world. Here's a tip: Don't eat the caterpillars when they're young and little. They're yucky then. Wait until they've fattened up on the leaves of mopane trees. The next step is to squeeze the guts out of the caterpillars. ... The guts are filled with a yellow-green slimy mess that smells like ground-up leaves. Then the caterpillars are boiled in salt water ... and spread out to dry. Dried worms last for many months. The worms taste like beef bits with a woody flavor. Many insects are good-tasting and high in protein. Honey ants, for example, are sweet treats. Fried grasshoppers and crickets taste something like fried shrimp. Fried mealworms taste like pretzels that were once alive. And leaf-footed bugs are fruity. Insects are also easy to find and free for the taking. Does this mean you should eat every insect you can catch? Well, no - some of them taste really bad, and some can make you sick.
Makanan Bergizi
Makan rumput, cacing tanah, larva, semut, rayap (anai-anai), kumbang, ulat, belalang, capung, jengkerik? Ya, mengapa tidak? Makanan-makanan tersebut telah dikenal bergizi tinggi oleh para pakar. Sereh adalah jenis rerumputan, untuk menyebut satu saja. Serangga dan cacing tanah merupakan sumber protein tinggi. Cacing tanah juga telah dikenal sebagai obat thypus, panas, dan demam. Serangga merupakan makanan sumber protein yang sangat bagus dan murah untuk menggantikan daging, menurut pakar.
Insects as Human Food, from Ohio State Fact Sheet on Entomology: The eating of insects has yet to become a day-to-day activity for most people in the United States and Europe in spite of the superior nutritional content of edible insects compared to other animals. Other cultures around the world have made insects a main ingredient in their diets, providing an excellent source of protein. Insects are an inexpensive substitute for meat in many developing countries.
In Mexico, grasshoppers and other edible insects are sold by the pound in village markets and are fried before being eaten. Many are sold in cans as fried grasshoppers, chocolate covered ants, etc. Tortillas are served with red and white agave worms in many Mexico city restaurants. Columbian citizens enjoy eating a variety of insects such as termites, palm grubs and ants. Ants are ground up and used as a spread on breads.
Popular insects eaten in the Philippines are June beetles, grasshoppers, ants, mole crickets, water beetles, katydids, locusts and dragonfly larvae. They can be fried, broiled or sauteed with vegetables.
In parts of Africa, ants, termites, beetle grubs, caterpillars and grasshoppers are eaten. Some insects such as termites are eaten raw soon after catching, while others are baked or fried before eating. The giant waterbug roasted and eaten whole is a favorite food in Asia. It is easily collected around lights at night around bodies of water.
Sago grubs are popular for cooks in Papua New Guinea, most often boiled or roasted over an open fire. Other edible insects eaten in this country include larvae of moths, wasps, butterflies, dragonflies, beetles, adult grasshoppers, cicadas, stick insects, moths and crickets.
http://www.uky.edu/Ag/Entomology/ythfacts/bugfood/yf813.htmThe natives of Algeria would collect large numbers of desert locusts to use as food. They were a valuable resource for the poor population. The locusts were cooked in salt water and dried in the sun. Not only were they collected for personal use, but the locusts were traded in the markets as well. Australian natives, known as Aborigines, have eaten many different insects throughout history. Hundreds of Aborigines would come together at the Bogong mountains to feast on Bogong moths. These moths would gather in large numbers on the cave floors and in rock crevices. They were harvested, cooked in sand and stirred in hot ashes. This would burn off the wings and legs. The moths were then sifted through a net to remove their heads before they were eaten by the Aborigines. Some of the moths were ground into paste and made into cakes. Another important insect in the Aboriginal diet was the witchety grub. This was a moth larva that lived in the roots of the acacia bush, also known as the witchety bush. The grubs were eaten raw or cooked in ashes. Cooked grubs supposedly taste like almonds. The grubs were a valued food source in the Australian desert, especially to women and children. Some of the insects eaten by the Aborigines were very sweet. The natives would dig into the ground looking for the nests of honeypot ants. The workers of these ants collect honeydew and feed it to other worker ants, which would become storage containers for the sweet liquid. The "storage" workers could be found in the nests.
The Japanese have used insects as human food since ancient times. The practice probably started in the Japanese Alps, where many aquatic insects are captured and eaten. Thousands of years ago, this region had a large human population but a shortage of animal protein. Since the area had an abundance of aquatic insects, this food source became very important for human survival. The Japanese still use insects in many recipes. If you were to go to a restaurant in Tokyo, you might have the opportunity to sample some of these insect-based dishes
* hachi-no-ko - boiled wasp larvae * zaza-mushi - aquatic insect larvae * inago - fried rice-field grasshoppers * semi - fried cicada * sangi - fried silk moth pupae
Most of these insects are caught wild except for silk moth pupae. They are by-products of the silk industry. Silk moths are raised in mass for their ability to produce silk. The larvae, the young silk moths, produce the silk. Once they pupate, they can no longer produce silk and are then used as food.
People from West Africa have been known to feast on termites, crickets, grasshoppers, caterpillars, palm weevil larvae, and compost beetle larvae. Termites are collected by placing a bowl of water under a light source. The termites are attracted to the light and will then fall into the water. If large numbers of termites are gathered, they are sold at local markets. People of all ages eat the winged reproductive termites, but the queen termites are considered a delicacy and are only eaten by adults. The termites are roasted over a fire or hot coals or fried in a pot. After cooking, the wings are removed and salt is added to taste. In some parts of Nigeria, the Cirina forda Westwood larva is reported to be the most important and widely eaten insect. This insect, often called Kanni, is a caterpillar that is collected from the sheabutter tree. It is boiled and dried in the sun before it is eaten. Kanni is widely used as an ingredient in vegetable soup in this region. A very large edible insect is the palm weevil larva. It can be four inches long and more than two inches wide. The mature larvae are fleshy and grublike with a high fat content. These insects are collected from the trunks of palm trees. They are fried in a pot or frying pan. They are reported to be very delicious. The compost beetle larvae are even larger than the palm weevil larvae. They live in garbage or manure piles or swampy areas. The end of the abdomen, which contains the guts, is removed before the larvae are washed and fried. Some people refuse to eat this insect because it is found in such dirty places.[Saran Untuk Mendeteksi Serangga Yang Aman Dimakan]
And more …
{Terjemahan bebas http://www.survival.com/bug.htm} Lebah dan tawon penyengat boleh-boleh saja dimakan setelah direbus hingga mendidih. Racunnya pada dasarnya adalah protein yang larut pada suhu-suhu mendidih. Lebah dan pengentup itu sangat lezat! Hindari serangga yang membawa wabah penyakit, yang beracun, yang berbulu halus, berwarna terang, atau berkaki empat atau lebih. Salah satu serangga paling berbahaya berasal dari kelulara cantharidin (blister beetles). Sepertinya Anda tidak akan menemukannya kecuali Anda mampir ke Mediterani hanya untuk mengunyah serangga. Kalau Anda ragu-ragu tentang suatu serangga, maka lakukan uji keselamatan dahulu. Ikuti saja aturan yang sudah teruji waktu ini:
-Selalu upayakan untuk memasak serangga.
-Jangan pernah memakan serangga yang diketemukan mati.
-Jangan makan serangga yang menggigit balik.
-Kalau baunya busuk, jangan dimakan!
[Rumput Sebagai Bumbu Dapur]
Sebuah restoran di Flores, NTT, menggunakan rerumputan tertentu sebagai bumbu dapur dan obat.
Uniknya, di pekarangan restoran pangan lokal ini juga tumbuh 6 jenis rumput lokal. Rumput itu dapat dijadikan bumbu dapur, seperti rumput goragosa dan uta mela sebagai pengganti asam jawa. Jenis rumput lainnya pun dipercaya bisa menjadi obat, seperti mola re’e. [Kutipan dari "Pangan Lokal untuk Generasi Muda," http://health.kompas.com/read/2012/03/14/02101453/Pangan.Lokal.untuk.Generasi.Muda]