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Nowadays, as the world population is soaring, the inadequacy of food supply has became a global issue. Some people argue that edible insects may be useful to solve the problem while others believe that insects are not beneficial. This essay will discuss the benefits and drawbacks of edible insects as a food source. To begin with, some people contends that insects are not only edible but healthy for human because they contain a high composition of proteins. Unlike other foods such as beefs and porks, insects have a good nutrient balance as they contain low percentage of fat and high percentage of protein. Therefore, some people believe that by eating insects, many people will obtain a more balanced diet. Next, some people believe that as countless insects exist in the wild as well as they can be harvested, edible insects are a sustainable source of food. While animals such as cows and pigs take a long time to grow, insects have a much shorter period of harvestation, which costs much less as well. Therefore, some people argue that insects are a perfect food source to support an increasing population. On the other hand, some people contend that insects cannot be a food source because they will negatively influence human's health as well as nature. First, as some insects may possess poisons or parasites, people should not consume any random type of insects. For instance, there are millions species of insects that are not identified in toxicity or in nutrients. Furthermore, even with the commonly known edible insects, the conditions where they grow up may be contaminated so some people believe that it is not safe to eat insects. Second, harvesting insects may give an impact on nature because the diversity of species will be interrupted and changed by humans. It may also lead to an increase in the number of specific species of insects and they might devastate a great number of farmers' crops or grains. Therefore, as harvesting insects can exacerbate the shortage in supply of agricultural food, some people argue that insects should not be a food source. To sum up, there are several benefits and drawbacks of eating insects considering the health of human as well as the sustain of nature. I believe that more research can be done on edible insects to cope with the issue of shortage supply of food. |