Insect ice cream? Maggot sausage? Scientist says these meals might be in your future

University of Queensland Meat Science Professor Louwrens Hoffman said he’s looking into how maggots, locusts and other proteins could be added to specialty foods.

SALT LAKE CITY — Your future may involve maggot-flavored ice cream.

University of Queensland meat science professor Louwrens Hoffman said he’s looking into how maggots, locusts and other proteins could be added to specialty foods in order to convince more people to eat them.

Hoffman said meat from commercial livestock will soon reach a shortage due to global demand, so the world will need to find alternative proteins to consume if people want to eat any sort of protein.

“An overpopulated world is going to struggle to find enough protein unless people are willing to open their minds, and stomachs, to a much broader notion of food,” Hoffman said in a statement. “Would you eat a commercial sausage made from maggots? What about other insect larvae and even whole insects like locusts? The biggest potential for sustainable protein production lies with insects and new plant sources.”

Research shows that people might not be into eating insects for dinner. So, Hoffman said, it makes sense to add the insects into food favorites without people knowing.

"For example, one of my students has created a very tasty insect ice cream," he said.

Hoffman said it’s a logical idea to have people eat more insects and larvae.

”And, while insects are largely foreign as a food in Western cultures, for many millions of people around the world they are a familiar part of the diet.”

Indeed, the practice of eating insects, called entomophagy, is common in close to 113 countries around the world, according to a recent study.

Context: CNN reports that there are more than 2,000 edibles species of insects. In fact, the United Nations has recommended these species as potential solutions to the global food shortage.

According to CNN, kangaroos may also be a potential meat source for protein. A separate study, which was done by Hoffman, looked into adding fermented rooibos extract (derived from a South African plant) to rabbit meat patties, too.