Cricket Croquettes? Japanese High School’s New Lunch Protein Goes Viral

They’re good for you and full of protein and fiber. But not everyone’s down for eating crickets – even in powdered form. One high school in Japan found that out the hard way this week when its experiments with insect protein went viral.

The city of Komatsushima’s West Komatsushima High School in Tokushima Prefecture started the experiment last year. The idea came from staff member Tada Kanako after she saw students making a game of eating dried crickets – and actually liking them once they tried them.

Tada ran the first experiment last year in November. Cafeteria staff made pumpkin croquettes with cricket powder used as the protein in place of ground meat. The school made the replacement voluntary and some 170 students gave it a go.

It was the first time in Japan that a school had used cricket powder or any other insect-based product in school lunches. Some students professed initial reluctance but ultimately gave the flavor of the insect croquettes high marks.

So the school ran a second experiment, with an eye towards making it a more permanent offering.

And that’s when all hell broke loose. It started with parents complaining that some kids might have allergic reactions to the bugs and questioning the powder’s safety. But others recoiled at the very idea of kids being “forced” to eat insects.

Online reactions echo this sentiment. “Kids won’t really go against what their teachers say, so you’re making them all eat it,” one complained. “I guess this is the age we live in now,” another lamented.

Tokushima Prefecture’s Education Committee emphasized to the media that it performed the experiment with the full consent of students. It also denied it formally endorsed the experiment or had plans to introduce it across all prefectural schools.

So far, the school has received 20 official complaints, with many demanding to know whether the school would force students to eat cricket croquettes. The prefectural school committee denies any such machinations.

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Sources

「子供に食べさせるな」コオロギ粉末給食に苦情殺到　試食2回提供の高校困惑「誤解されている」. J-Cast News