JOE DERMODY: Fancy taking a bite out of bugs?

While it might seem like a bit of a giggle, the reality is that future generations of Europeans can expect to spend longer periods out of work. Will they be able to afford beef? Or will they be willing to eat insects?

Anyone for a honey-glazed cockroach? Grasshopper soup? Locust-enriched meusli? The answer is most likely a strong ‘no thanks’, unless, of course, you’re one of the scientists working on a €3m EU project to see if Europeans can be induced to eat insects as an alternative to beef.

Right now, the research project’s bid to study “the potential of insects as an alternative source of protein” may read like a Monty Python restaurant sketch, but there is a genuine concern at the core — will Europe have enough meat to feed its citizens in future generations? The EU’s instinctive answer to that question, like most people’s answer to an offer of deep-fried beetle, is a strongly worded ‘no.’