Crunchy, tasty, buggy. Today's chefs have
to cook up the best bug dish and avoid
getting squished. (splat) Hello, chefs.
Today, you must use the everyday ingredients
in your baskets to prove to Miranda
that even though she doesn't realize it, she actually eats bugs
all the time. If your dish doesn't cut it,
you will get squished. Okay, open 'em up. ♪♪ And our contestants
have bugs, bugs, and more bugs. (woman)
My strategy is
to tell the truth. If you've ever eaten
a lobster or crayfish, you've eaten a bug. They're both arthropods. Hmm, that's very smart. Lobsters are essentially
spiders of the sea. I'm never eatin'
a lobster again. A bug's head shall never
pass these lips. Oh, the truth is bugs
are already in most of our foods,
and there's nothing unsafe or even unhealthy about it. Our produce and canned foods
are full of little bug bits. Broccoli, spinach,
and canned tomatoes can contain heads,
legs, thoraxes, and even entire insects. How is that allowed? Until I become
a chef full-time, I still have my day job
at the FDA. And we allow these bugs
in there because eating them is totally safe. In fact, the only reason
the FDA puts limits on bug parts in food at all is so people
don't notice them. Generally, our policy
is if people don't notice, they won't care. (Arana)
Oh, now I like what I'm seeing
here with the chocolate. Chocolate is full of bugs. Yes, great move. In fact, if you eat
100 pounds of chocolate, you'll have eaten
one entire pound of bugs. There are even bugs
in certain drinks. Up to five percent
of the hops in each batch of beer is bugs. (chuckling)
I love a hoppy beer. I do not.
I think we're done here. Yes, we are,
with the dishes that contain bugs
unintentionally. But our chefs were also asked to
prepare a dish of common foods that contain bugs
on purpose. Chefs, please step back. ♪♪ Mmm. Nice choice by
Chef Mei Ling here. Yes, the red dye found
in milkshakes, yogurt, and sausages is often made
from scale insects. (Mei Ling)
I've created dishes that really represent me. And the bugs. (Aaron)
So I look over at
chef Tony's dish, and I realize we both went
for the lac bugs. Lac bugs are used
in the coating for jelly beans,
and other candies, and cake fondant. I'm still confident in my dish. I... just hope the judges
feel the same way. For me, it was
just disgusting. I didn't even try it. I say more. If you're gonna put
the bugs in, put the bugs in! Well, do we have
a decision? ♪♪ Chef Aaron, I'm afraid
you've been squished. (Arana)
Chef Aaron, you did demonstrate
why humans unknowingly ingest around
one to two pounds of flies, maggots,
and other bugs hidden in their food
each year. But at the end of the day, the execution
just wasn't there. Yeah... Be well. ♪♪ (Miranda)
Wait a minute! Are you telling me
I could be eating up to two pounds
of bugs a year without even knowing it? I'm gonna have
my jaw wired shut. My friend Joyce had it done,
she looks divine. Or you could just accept it. And for the sake of humanity,
you should. Because bugs might be the best way to feed
our growing population. Worldwide demand for
meat-based protein is rising at
an alarming rate. But if that trend continues and everyone starts eating
as much meat as Americans do, raising that amount
of livestock would require more land area
than even exists on the planet. But if we replaced just half the world's meat consumption
with bugs, we'd use one-third less land
for agriculture. Plus, eating bugs
is a lot less wasteful. 80% of a cricket's body
is edible, compared to just
40% of a cow's. And not only could we feed
way more people, it would be more
environmentally efficient. Farming crickets requires
far less water than farming lean meat. And bugs are straight up
safer to consume. Unlike traditional meat,
bugs are genetically different enough
from humans that diseases don't jump to us
when we eat them.
