NARRATION

Ever had butterflies in your stomach? What about locusts? In the future, dining on a tasty plate of invertebrates might be as normal as throwing a prawn on the barbie.

Right now, the UN is exploring how insects can be farmed to help feed our seven billion hungry mouths. So let's take a look at our tempting alternative. There are about seventeen-hundred edible insect species, including beetles, butterflies, bees, ants and crickets. And these vermin are highly nutritious.

A kilogram of mayfly larvae has more protein than a kilo of beef, chicken or eggs. And most insects are also packed with amino acids and essential vitamins and minerals. Just four locusts will give you the calcium of a glass of milk, and caterpillars are loaded with vitamin B.

Insects give off far fewer greenhouse gases and use less land than livestock. And if crunching on a critter's giving you the creeps, consider this: two-and-a-half billon people in the world already eat insects as part of their regular diet.

So next time a cockroach finds its way into your kitchen, put down your shoe and grab a fork instead.