Rachael Young has been getting a lot of attention for her culinary explorations. But the founder of the pro-entomophagy organization Eat Yummy Bugs is, more than anything, a conservationist. "It informs everything I do," she says.
Much of what Young does these days is spread the word that not only are insects delicious, but eating them on a large scale could have huge health and environmental benefits and open up profitable, sustainable avenues of commercial agriculture. The first step, she says, is to get past the cultural stigma attached to eating insects — a task for which she is well prepared.
Young, 33, knows that the revolution of insect eating will never arrive unless bugs can be prepared in tasty, non-icky ways. Which is why she teamed up with chef Mark Olofson and the adventurous spirits at Burlington's ArtsRiot to host a "bug dinner": a showcase of just how tasty bugs can be.
To read more about Rachael and her societal bug eating challenge, check out Ethan De Seife's article in Sevendaysvt.com