Poems and Thoughts    by Frank Maurer

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Entomophagy II Oh dear! Why would one wish to ingest bugs? Besides more humans continually needing protein And efforts to reduce CO2 and methane, Insects are a very desirable food source Which fulfill all of the above. For instance, on one acre during one year A cow will produce 192 pounds And chickens will produce 265 pounds And 1,500 pounds of soy can be produced And 7,700 pounds of algae per acre, While crickets produce 65,000 pounds And grubs produce 1,000,000 pounds! Concerning space, cows need 20 square meters, Pigs, 5; chickens, 4.5, While crickets as a group require only 1.5 meters squared And the lowly grubs need a tiny 0.1 square meters! Insects as a superfood? Let.s see. They have three times more protein than beef, Two times more iron than spinach, With all essential amino acids. Insects have 10% more vitamin B12 than salmon, And a perfect omega 6:3 ratio! With such credentials, How could a challenged human population Not heed what nature offers and, indeed, demands, To save us from great hunger and malnutrition In an ever hostile planet, pressing all To eventually migrate polar north and some south, Where temperatures will be more tolerable? Get over it folks and learn to love That source which enticed and, when found, delighted our ancestors-- Giving us our present day large brain and canine reduced morphology. Frank Maurer 12 November 2022 1230 PM