More Europe!

Last month the European Commission announced that it would be substituting the major part of its meat offerings with insects such as crickets and beetles in its canteens. “We’ve been under a lot of pressure from certain member states to lower costs at the institutional level. Being locally sourced, crickets, for example, are not only good for our budget but they’re good for the environment. In fact, after only a few weeks we’ve already got a robust farm going on P2 next to Van Rompuy’s parking spot,” said food services manager Andrzej Rusek.

It looks like the Commission finally decided to put its mouth where its money is. The change in menu follows the announcement of project “PROteINSECT” which foresees the allocation of nearly 4 million euro over a 39 month period to develop a “pro-insect platform in Europe to encourage adoption of sustainable protein production technologies.” While the project was announced in February of this year, the menu change did not take place until late May in coordination with the release of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation’s report on Edible insects: Future prospects for food and feed security. “We issue tons of green papers that no one ever reads—us included. We figured we’d get more people on board with UN backing,” commented Director-General for Research & Innovation Robert-Jan Smits.

The Commission has decided to phase in insect protein as an indistinguishable meat substitute in most canteens. When asked whether the cricket burger he was eating was up to snuff, EC fonctionnaire Jean-Claude Martin said mid-bite, “Wait, this is cricket? I thought it was beef! The beef burgers have always tasted like this.” The EEAS canteen, on the other hand, has introduced whole crickets to the menu as toppers for salads, soups, and, for those bold enough to try, ice cream. “Those guys at the EEAS aren’t content eating bugs in Thailand or Ghana. They have to prove how worldly they are even in Brussels,” said one Commission official.

And while EC canteen goers used to lower quality food may not know the difference, European Parliament officials with high standards are decidedly on the picky end. To tackle this problem a cocktail reception is planned in the weeks before Parliament goes into summer recess. At the event members of the secretariat, assistants and interns alike will be able to rub shoulders and try a nice smoked beetle paired with a Super Tuscan, or a caramelized cricket with a crisp Sauvignon Blanc. Spokesperson for the British project Ento commented, “One day we were joking around and said ‘You could serve those guys at the Parliament insects for all they knew and they’d eat it as long as you called it a cocktail reception.’ Well guess what, that’s what we’re doing.”