This Startup is Hell-Bent on Making Bug Eating More Acceptable

The world's population is estimated to exceed 9 billion by 2050. With the threat of food insecurity, increasing greenhouse gas emissions and land and water resources running dry, the alarm bells at the United Nations have been ringing off the wall for a solution. In a report commissioned in 2013 they state that eating insects could in fact be the key to survival. And with 80 percent of the globe already hooked on bug scoffing, it's about time the western world got on board.

With these facts in mind and after reading 'The Short History of Progress' by Ronald Wright, Christopher Wilson threw the towel in on his advertising biz and decided to establish, Live Longer – Eat Well, a business focused on creating sustainable, organic food.

The first port of call for Wilson was to make garden creepy-crawlies more acceptable at the dinner table by initiating a batch of cricket flour. Research shows the benefits of crickets are colossal. As well as being highly nutritious, soy, dairy, grain-free and paleo-friendly, the insects are one of the most sustainable proteins on the planet - they contain three times more protein than steak - and require around six times less water than cattle, four times less than sheep and two times less than pigs to produce the same amount of protein.

While crickets don't sound like the tastiest thing to stick in your gob, the end result after being roasted and milled into fine flour, is a palatable, nutty-tasting powder that can be used in baking, pancakes, pasta, smoothies and whatever your bug eating heart desires. The flour has even been labelled as the next big thing in protein powders for gym buffs.

Wilson and Live Longer farm and mill their crickets on an organic farm in Canada with sustainable and animal welfare values. As a result Live Longer flour is certified organic by BioGro in New Zealand.

For more information about eating crickets and some nutritious recipes, see the Live Longer website.

Update: the original version of this article stated that Live Longer were the first producers of cricket flour in New Zealand; they are the second after Crawlers.