TED演讲:我们应该食用昆虫吗(1)（打印版）

　　For centuries, people have consumed bugs, everything from beetles to caterpillars, locusts, grasshoppers, termites, and dragonflies. 几世纪以来，人类都在食用各种虫子，从甲虫到毛毛虫、蝗虫、蚱蜢、白蚁再到蜻蜓。

　　The practice even has a name: entomophagy. 这种用食习惯甚至还有个名字：食虫性。

　　Early hunter-gatherers probably learned from animals that foraged for protein-rich insects and followed suit. 早期的狩猎采集者们大概从动物那里学到了怎样寻找富含高蛋白的虫子，并且也模仿了起来。

　　As we evolved and bugs became part of our dietary tradition, they fulfilled the role of both staple food and delicacy. 随着人类的发展，吃虫子变成了我们的饮食习惯。因为虫子既是日常可见的东西，又很美味。

　　In ancient Greece, cicadas were considered luxury snacks. 在古希腊，蝉被认为是很奢侈的美味。

　　And even the Romans found beetle larvae to be scrumptious. 罗马人甚至发现甲虫幼虫十分可口。

　　Why have we lost our taste for bugs? 而现在，我们为什么丧失了对虫子的喜爱？

　　The reason for our rejection is historical, and the story probably begins around 10,000 BC in the Fertile Crescent, 这是有历史原因的，大概要追溯到公元前一万年的肥沃月弯地区，

　　a place in the Middle East that was a major birthplace of agriculture. 它位于今天的中东地区，是农业的主要发源地。

　　Back then, our once-nomadic ancestors began to settle in the Crescent. 在那时，我们的游牧民族祖先曾经在肥沃月弯地区定居下来。

　　And as they learned to farm crops and domesticate animals there, 他们在那里学会了怎样种植庄稼和怎样驯化野兽，

　　attitudes changed, rippling outwards towards Europe and the rest of the Western world. 于是人们换了一种生活方式，并向欧洲拓展，然后传到了整个西方世界。

　　As farming took off, people might have spurned bugs as mere pests that destroyed their crops. 当农业发展了起来，人们意识到虫子只是毁坏庄家的害虫。

　　Populations grew, and the West became urbanized, weakening connections with our foraging past. 而当人口增加，西方开始城镇化发展以后，使得我们与我们祖先的游牧文化的联系越来越淡。

　　People simply forgot their bug-rich history. 人们忘记了食用虫子的历史。

　　Today, for people not accustomed to entomophagy, bugs are just an irritant. 而现在，对于那些不习惯吃虫子的人，虫子成了令人讨厌的东西。

　　They sting and bite and infest our food. 它们叮咬人类并且祸害庄稼。

　　We feel an "ick factor" associated with them and are disgusted by the prospect of cooking insects. 看到虫子我们觉得“恶心”，并且讨厌烹调昆虫的流行。

　　Almost 2,000 insect species are turned into food, forming a big part of everyday diets for two billion people around the world. 大约已经有2000种昆虫被转化成了食物，对于世界上的二十亿人类来说这构成了他们日常饮食的很大一部分。

　　Countries in the tropics are the keenest consumers, because culturally, it's acceptable. 热带国家的人们是虫子的最积极食用者，因为对于他们的文化来说是可接受的。

　　Species in those regions are also large, diverse, and tend to congregate in groups or swarms that make them easy to harvest. 那些地区的虫子个头很大，多种多样，并且喜欢聚成一大群，使得他们更容易被捕获。

　　Take Cambodia in Southeast Asia where huge tarantulas are gathered, fried, and sold in the marketplace. 就拿东南亚的柬埔寨来说，大量狼蛛聚集在市场上被炸来贩卖。

　　In southern Africa, the juicy mopane worm is a dietary staple, simmered in a spicy sauce or eaten dried and salted. 在非洲南部，多汁的蝴蝶树虫是常见的可口食物，用一种辣口的调料来炖或者盐腌了吃。

　　And in Mexico, chopped jumiles are toasted with garlic, lemon, and salt. 在墨西哥，剁碎的臭虫用大蒜，柠檬和盐来烤着吃。

TED演讲:我们应该食用昆虫吗(1)（在线收听）