jackfruit, otherwise known as durian, has been touted as a “superfood” because of its dense nutritional properties. named after the jack tree from which the fruit is harvested, jackfruit is known to be a low-calorie, zero cholesterol, fiber rich meat-replacement. unlike other faux meats, jackfruit is soy and gluten free, and is naturally rich in vitamins and minerals.

this super fruit’s popularity also can be credited to its unprocessed nature. when harvested before ripened, often referred to as “young” jackfruit, the fruit has a pulled chicken-like texture, creating a more meat-like alternative to tofu, a soy-based protein, or tempeh, a wheat gluten-based protein. the fruit is then packaged as is; no alteration or chemical additives necessary.

i decided to make my way to chinatown in new york city to further investigate this increasingly popular ingredient. orchard grocer, a 100% vegan supermarket and deli, is among the many eateries incorporating jackfruit into their dishes. the small shop is popularly known for its bbq jackfruit and cabbage slaw sandwich, or, as they call it, “the emma” sandwich. 

upon entering the shop, i met a man who referred to the jackfruit sandwich as “the most meat-like vegan sandwich” he had ever tried. as a non-vegan, he said his initial perception was “very chicken vibes,” however he later asserted that the jackfruit itself has “little-to-no flavor” while it does take on the flavor of whatever it is spiced with. it is interesting that even among those without dietary restrictions, jackfruit seems to hold some status. 

after a personal taste test, i found my reaction to jackfruit to be fairly similar to the aforementioned man’s perception. the durian was essentially coated in a bbq sauce, altogether hiding whatever minimal taste the fruit itself possessed. the cabbage slaw offered a nice crunch and change of texture, while the bread, like a sponge, absorbed all the steam the once-hot sandwich released, deteriorating the sandwich’s overall quality. judging the jackfruit alone though, i found myself to be fond of this up and coming super fruit. 

so, why is this food becoming increasingly trendy? i contacted a representative of the jackfruit company, one of the companies at the frontline of this trend. the jackfruit company is turning out packaged and seasoned jackfruit for retail, offering a sustainable, healthy product while also supporting farmers’ trades. upon inquiring as to why the business was initially created, the company’s representative said that their founder, annie, “saw tons of jackfruit going to waste in the industry’s origin country, india, and wanted to figure out a way to change that.” the representative also mentioned that jackfruit’s high-yield and drought-resistance makes it an easy go-to for countries with high hunger rates. jackfruit seems to be a super fruit in more ways than one. 

as the world becomes more conscious of the need for sustainable and “greener” efforts, there is no question as to why a highly nutritious, yet environmentally friendly, crop has become popularized. the nation’s drive toward health and wellness supports jackfruit’s trendiness, particularly among younger generations. this new vegan “meat” option seems to be making its mark across the country and the globe. so, next time you hit the supermarket, be on the lookout for this super fruit.

if you’re interested in creating an at-home jackfruit masterpiece, checkout the recipe below and feast upon a sustainable, nutrient-dense and cost-effective meal!

bbq pulled jackfruit sandwich: a recipe that will feed your body + soul

ingredients:
1 can of jackfruit (i use trader joe’s because it only costs $1.99 but whole foods and a number of other grocery stores carry it too, sometimes at a significantly higher price though!)
4 tablespoons of barbecue sauce
6 whole wheat buns 
2 tablespoons of olive oil
suggested toppings:
– cilantro
– vegan cheese
– onion
– tomato
– lettuce

directions:
1. drain brine from jackfruit.
2. grab a skillet pan and turn up the heat on your stove top to medium.
3. add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet pan and bring it to a simmer.
4. add your drained can of jackfruit and stir as it heats up for about 4 minutes.
5. pour 4 tablespoons of your choice of barbecue sauce into the skillet and stir until the jackfruit is completely and evenly coated in sauce. allow the jackfruit, olive oil, and barbecue sauce mixture to simmer for 4 more minutes.
6. prepare your buns (i like to heat up a separate pan and toast the buns for about 30 seconds on each side but if you like ‘em straight out of the bag, go for it!).
7. remove the barbecued jackfruit from heat and place about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the mixture between the buns.
8. add whatever toppings you have on hand and dig in! and, as you enjoy your sandwich, soak in the effort and thought you’ve put into the nutritious and environmentally conscious meal you’ve now prepared for yourself!

for about 80 percent of the world’s populations, however, insects are an important protein source and a regular part of the diet. some see edible insects as an untapped food source for communities suffering from chronic malnutrition. one such individual is valerie stull, a graduate student at the university of wisconsin-madison.

“i don’t think there is any one panacea for all of our environmental and global health challenges, but i do think that insects represent an underutilized, underexplored food resource that has the potential to be revived and help protect the environment,” she said of the 1,900 edible insect species worldwide.

“i mean, think about how long we’ve been cultivating livestock, domesticating livestock,” she pointed out, “we haven’t yet done that with insects. we’ve domesticated silkworms, we’ve domesticated honey bees, you know, and a few other species but we really haven’t put that much energy into it compared to other animals.”

stull leads the research collaborative mighti, or the mission to improve global health through insects. mighti investigates how farming edible insects can increase food security while protecting environmental resources.

farming insects requires few resources, takes little effort and time, and could provide a reliable protein source year-round. some insects can be reared on agricultural byproducts, such as corn leaves, and many farmable species emit low levels of greenhouse gases, like methane and ammonia.

“the most exciting thing to me was the fact that you don’t have to have access to land or even electricity to be an insect farmer,” stull enthused, “you could do this if you were living in a rural area, or an urban area with very limited resources.”

stull speaks from personal experience, having raised mealworms under the kitchen sink of her one-bedroom apartment. she grinds them into a protein powder or roasts them, and likes their nutty flavor.

her research is based in zambia, which faces pervasive food insecurity and drought. there, insects are commonly gathered from the wild as a traditional part of the diet.

while insects are a great source of protein and fatty acids, stull says foraging for insects is not always sustainable. the most sought after edible insects are often only prolific during certain times of the year, and unregulated wild-harvesting sometimes leads to cutting down trees.

in countries like zambia that experience food insecurity, insect farming could dramatically improve nutrition. additionally, it could create economic stability because insect farming is inexpensive, more reliable than other protein sources in times of drought and does not require transportation from farm to market. it seems like a perfect solution, but stull cautions against taking a paternalistic approach to communities suffering from food insecurity.

“if you try to implement insect farming strategies you need to be very aware of the cultural and social implications of doing so,” she said. “we tried to better understand peoples’ relationship with edible insects currently because the practice of consuming insects, entomophagy, is much more nuanced than you would think.”

stull uses the mealworm as an example. “it’s very resilient, very productive; they’re prolific breeders, and they’re highly nutritious, easy to process into a powder,” she said. “mealworms can be eaten by people, fed to fish, fed to poultry.”

adding to their allure, producing a pound of mealworms requires less than a gallon of water, which is ideal for drought-prone areas, and hardly emits greenhouse gases. in comparison, producing one pound of beef requires 2,000 gallons of water and emits 100 times the amount of greenhouse gases that mealworms do.

farming mealworms in zambia seems like a perfect solution to combat malnutrition, but the reality is more complicated.

as it turns out, mealworms are not currently part of the zambian diet. they prefer termites and other insects.  

termites are nearly impossible to farm because of their complicated, partially underground life cycle. termites also produce a lot of methane, a greenhouse gas. but just because the mealworm is a more sustainable, secure food source than the termite does not mean that teaching farmers to raise mealworms would be feasible. farmers must first accept mealworms as a food source and agree to farm them. if there is no interest, the program is unsustainable.  

stull emphasized that “a long-term solution is to develop some of these insect farming systems in tandem and in partnership with local farmers.” farming systems must be developed such that “you’re learning from them and they’re learning from you.”

“that’s just something that i personally think is really important but is a challenge because to work that way takes a lot more time,” she said.

it is a worthwhile challenge to face, considering the potential impact of insect farming. if stull’s collaborative project works in zambia, a country with low resources, a drought-prone climate, and a culture that does not view mealworms as food, how many other countries could this help? could this break a cycle of dependency on local organizations for survival? could low-income communities achieve economic stability if they had an independently produced and reliable food source?

perhaps in the future, with adequate research, these questions will have answers. in the meantime, edible insects present an unconventional avenue to ease malnutrition. no matter the gut reaction to insects’ hard, honeycomb eyes, long probing antennas, or callous, crusted exoskeletons, it is undeniable they are a worthwhile subject for exploration.

see now i always thought these guys were cool with the whole “hakuna matata” philosophy, but now i’ve dived into the word of eating bugs! so i did some research and i found some pretty interesting stuff about edible insects other than that they sound delicious.

on to the informative part.

countries around the world are entomophagous (eat bugs). the strange thing in our culture is we see bugs as pests and kill them on sight because we learned that insects are “icky”. insects are a great source of protein, fat, and other nutrients essential to our growth and depending on what bug you decide to snack on they stack up to meat and fish in the nutrient content but can also surpass them. not only that, insects are eco-friendlier than livestock with differentiating margins in feed, water, greenhouse gas emissions, and occupational space.

approximately 80% of the human population eats insects knowingly and 100% of the population eats them unknowingly. to see how people would react to the idea of eating bugs i conducted a little (unscientific) poll, and asked around to see how many of people would be up for the idea.

to my surprise a majority said they would as long as they didn’t physically see the insects, and the rest wouldn’t mind eating bugs as long as they tasted good.

in case you were wondering those are fried grasshoppers, which carry around 20 grams of protein, 6 grams of fat, and 4 grams of carbs per 100 grams.

grasshoppers are found wherever there’s a food source, and like their relatives crickets, are another great source of nutrients such as iron and vitamin b12. plus, those who lack these nutrients can pop a few crickets as a supplement.

another fun fact, insects contain omega-3 fatty acids like fish, not only that but higher levels of thiamin and riboflavin than eggs. soldier fly larvae are used in processing compost and this makes them higher in calcium than other insects, found in their exoskeletons. over 1,000 edible insect species around the world and they’re all in our back yard; harvesting this food source can yield a new market along with job opportunities.

other popular insects like ant and beetles have a complete protein profile like beef, chicken, and fish. there’s an added bonus, since edible insects are all over the world farms can grow local species of insects and reduce the need for transportation as opposed to the transport of livestock.

now for the eco-friendly benefit. let’s begin with insects being cold blooded, they use less energy to keep themselves warm and more energy to grow. insects have shorter life spans than livestock leading to higher production since they reach maturity at faster rates. eventually the amount of livestock needed to sustain our projected population growth won’t be feasible and will increase our carbon footprint.

crickets require about one pound of feed to create approximately one pound of body mass and significantly less water to be kept alive. insects release significantly less greenhouse gases than livestock, for example crickets release up to 100 times less greenhouse gases than cattle.

large scale production of insects can be used as feed for livestock reducing the amount of land needed for the production of animal feed. mealworms break down food waste that cannot be consumed by humans or livestock which can reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions expelled by rotting organic food waste. since we use pesticides to kill insects preserving our crops, harvesting insects can greatly reduce the need for pesticides. pesticides are a huge danger since they stay in the organisms that affect them and it just goes up the food chain.

finally getting to the fact that we all unknowingly eat bugs and they’re most likely than not in the very piece of food you are eating right now. the fda uses “accepted food defects level” which is the amount of unavoidable defects in foods we eat that show zero health hazards. on average five percent of bay leaves can be insect infected, peanut butter can average out to 30 or more insect fragments per 100 grams, and ground paprika can reach 75 insect fragments per 25 grams. so the fda has certain levels of food defects that range from insect, rodent, mold, and industrial contamination (center for food safety and applied nutrition. “sanitation & transportation – defect levels handbook.” u s food and drug administration home page. center for food safety and applied nutrition).

these levels are deemed safe for human consumption but all humans consume bugs in one way, shape, or form. we just have to get past the “ick” factor, i know i have and since learning about the health and environmental benefits of insects i already tried protein bars made with cricket flour from a company called exo (you should check them out) and i purchased roasted crickets to keep around as a snack and for cooking. there are also cookbooks that use cricket flour and other insects for various recipes!

have i convinced you to start eating bugs yet? if not, it’s cool. it’s gonna take time for pop culture to catch on, but hey it can be done there will be people that cannot consume insects due to shellfish allergies being that they’re arthropods like shrimp.

i dream of a future where food security isn’t an issue. so join me in this endeavor to spread awareness of edible bugs and let us join fellow insectivores on tasty bug treats. we can help end hunger and help save the environment at the same time! i wish i had a picture of myself eating some but it’s winter in syracuse and they aren’t around yet.

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works cited:

– center for food safety and applied nutrition. “sanitation & transportation – defect levels handbook.” u s food and drug administration home page. center for food safety and applied nutrition, n.d. web. 03 mar. 2017.

– disney, oh my. “10 times timon and pumbaa were you and your bff.” oh my disney. n.p., 14 apr. 2016. web. 03 mar. 2017.

– “eating bugs.” eating bugs |. n.p., n.d. web. 03 mar. 2017.

– “edible bugs and insects: are these high protein critters the future of food?” precision nutrition. n.p., 15 nov. 2014. web. 03 mar. 2017. elton, by: jordan. “

– “14 surprising stats about global food consumption.” one. n.p., 03 oct. 2016. web. 03 mar. 2017.

– “insects as food!?!” insects as food!?! entomology. n.p., n.d. web. 03 mar. 2017. posted by florian nock 36bx on april 22, 2016.

– “put down that bug! – allergies and edible insects.” bugsfeed. n.p., n.d. web. 03 mar. 2017.