*One of my professors in college once recalled the time he and some of his fraternity buddies got so drunk at a party that they scraped up a dead animal from off the street, cooked it, and ate it. They called it, The Road Kill Sandwich.
“We were hungry,” he told the class, noting that they were on a camping excursion in the middle of nowhere and had no access to fast food joints or local convenience stores.
Still, though, just how hungry and desperate do you have to be to eat road kill?
Some people might opt for an inset or two (or more) if caught up in a survival situation with no access to food or water. According to Get Pocket, “a good chunk of the world are fine eating the nearly 2,000 species of edible bugs that share the globe with us.”
So, what kinds of insects are OK to eat?
The first thing to remember is that insects have bacteria and parasites so always cook them before you eat them. According to Get Pocket, stay away from bugs that emit foul odors, although, raw stink bugs are a popular delicatessen in many countries, including Mexico.
You should also avoid eating insects that are brightly colored. Bugs that are red, yellow, and orange are likely poisonous to us.
“Opt instead for the harder-to-see ones—black, green, and brown,” per GetPocket.
In a survival situation, Get Pocket lists the following bugs that are safe to eat:
1. Grasshoppers and Crickets
Grasshoppers and crickets are the most widely consumed insects in the world. Remove the head, legs, and antennae of both. Roast them over a fire in a pan or a sheet of metal.
2. Ants
Find an anthill or ant hole and shove a stick in it. Once a bunch of ants starts crawling up, remove the stick and shake or dunk it in the cooking water. Cooking neutralizes the acid that ants use to subdue their prey, although it won’t hurt you.
3. Termites
Because termites eat wood, they’re pretty free of toxins. Like ants, termites can be eaten raw or roasted, boiled, or baked.
4. Grubs
They’re kind of gross and slimy, but in a survival scenario they’ll do. Pick apart rotting logs and look through leaf litter. Roasting the little suckers is a preferred method of preparation.
5. Earthworms
They’re definitely edible and everybody talks about how nutritious they are, but earthworms taste like—surprise—dirt, and they harbor parasites. Boil them several times and squeeze to remove the contents of their stomachs. You can also roast them, pound them into a powder, and add the powder to other foods.
Click here to read the full list —and the bugs you should avoid.
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