环保新理念:多吃昆虫少吃牛羊肉

　　A policy on eating insects is being formally considered by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Using insects instead of beef and mutton not only meets food supply brought by high growth of global population, but also reduces greenhouse gas emissions。

　　According to the Guardian on August 1, the UN draft said that the raising of livestock such as cows, pigs and sheep occupies two-thirds of the world's farmland and generates 20 percent of all greenhouse gases driving global warming。

　　Professor Arnold van Huis, an entomologist at Wageningen University in Belgium and the author of the draft, said eating insects has advantages. “There is a meat crisis,”he said. “The world population will grow from six billion now to nine billion by 2050 and we know people are consuming more meat。”

　　Furthermore, breeding commonly eaten insects such as locusts, crickets and meal worms, emits 10 times less methane than livestock。

　　In 80 percent of the nations around the world, more than 1,000 insects are known to be eaten by choice, They are most popular in the tropics, where they grow to large sizes and are easy to harvest. The FAO held a meeting on the theme in Thailand in 2008 and there are plans for a world congress in 2013.

　　联合国粮农组织日前郑重宣布，用昆虫代替牛羊肉，既可满足全球人口增长带来的食物供给压力，还可减少温室气体排放。

　　英国《卫报》1日的报道援引联合国的文件，称饲养牛、猪和羊等家畜会占用全世界2/3的农耕地，并产生了全球20%的温室气体。

　　该文件作者、比利时昆虫学家阿诺德？休伊斯认为，随着世界人口膨胀， 人对肉类的摄取量也大幅增加，地球已面临“肉危机”。他主张吃昆虫，因为昆虫含有高蛋白、维生素和矿物质。

　　除此之外，饲养昆虫也比饲养牲畜更低碳、更环保。例如，饲养蝗虫、蟋蟀和蠕虫等，比饲养牲畜会减少 90%的甲烷排放。

　　《卫报》称，在全球80%的国家中，目前已知1000多种昆虫可以吃。在热带地区，昆虫的个头更大，也容易养。2008年，粮农组织曾就食用昆虫问题在泰国举行会议。2013年，该组织还将就此举行世界大会。