Goal: I can design a bug-based burger.

In some parts of the world children your age are snacking on worm spring rolls, cricket rice or ice cream flavored with insect powder. Today we are going to look at creating our own bug based meal.

First, did you know that insect farming causes less damage to the environment then farming cows, pigs or chickens? Insects can be grown in factories, requiring less lands and less water than conventional sources of meat protein.

In South Australia’s Riverland, citrus and grain farmer Tim Schubert and his son Zachary have two shipping containers in which to raise insects. If you want to read more of their story click here. 

If you find it difficult to think of placing mealworms in your soup or crickets on your barbeque, some companies have made insect products easier to eat by turning dried crickets into protein powders and energy bars.

Now, obviously while you may not ever grow your own insects one day you may find yourself cooking with them. You challenge today is to design a bug-based burger. Will it be based on crickets, maggots, or worms?

Think about:

• What type of insect you may use?
• How you will cook them (steamed, fried, oven roasted, make a pattie)?
• What vegetables will you use, maybe add some fruit?
• Will you include a sauce or dressing, if so what will be in it?
• What type of bread (roll, wrap, taco, bao bun)?

Next, create a labelled diagram of you burger. You may want to include instructions on how to put it together, prepare the insects or make the dressing or sauce. Think about how you designed and created your burger, what ingredients were used, the way it was prepared, the equipment and techniques used.

(If burgers aren’t your thing maybe you want to create a soup.)

Then, if you want to challenge yourself you could also design and create a poster to advertise your burger. Don’t forget to include a catchy slogan.

Finally, even if you may not be interested in eating insects clever farms have found a way to use them to create a food source for cows. They use the food scraps and wasted food we throw away to feed mealworms which they then feed to cows. Check out the insects being farmed in Queanbeyan, NSW by a company called Goterra.

Remember, if you want to know about alternative foods and this year’s science theme check out the MPPS Science blog. Which has lots of information, videos and family activities for Science Week 2021 – Food: Different By Design.