Eat a cricket, save the world

When former college roommates Pat Crowley and Dan O’Neill decided to create Chapul Bars, energy bars made of milled crickets, it wasn’t to shock people. It’s because they believed crickets were a more environmentally friendly choice: Crickets are rich in protein and, comparatively, require much less grain to produce than cows or pigs. Less grain means less water usage; eating crickets could be a viable solution for saving water and reducing our carbon footprint. And 10 percent of the company’s profits aid water-conservation efforts in the American Southwest and Thailand—the two regions that inspired the bars. The bars, only available online, are available in two flavors, Thai (coconut, lime and ginger) and Chaco (dates, chocolate and peanuts). And they actually taste good—not at all like bugs. Only a small amount of insect flour is required to meet the needed 6 grams of protein. And, hey, what’s there is ground up, anyway. www.chapul.com.