Viewing the WhatsApp status of some friends and I came across one surprising video, supposedly claiming that mosquitoes can be eaten after roasting them. Immediately I saw the video I was quite surprised but on a second thought I asked myself some critical question, is this really possible or was the video just made up in a bid to get traffic on the Youtube channel because obviously, it will arouse the interest of my kind. Of all insects to consume it, is mosquito, no way I didn't believe it.
Although I was tempted at some point to believe that it's true because I have once read an article or more or less a research that involved genetic modification of mosquitoes, where two major modifications are made to this mosquitoes. The first being, genetically modifying their gene to reduce the lifespan and secondly a fluorescent marker is inserted into them so that they are easily identified in the wild.
These genetic modifications are mainly aimed at reducing the population of these insects and as well reduce their potential in causing disease using in humans. In essence, after the genetic modification, we may end up having mosquitoes that do not pose serious threat.
However, this still does not rule out the potential accidental creation of more resistant species. My thoughts seemed not to align well after recalling the dangers associated with this insects.
The long and short of everything is that, mosquitoes have vectors of diseases and you most well known one is malaria disease which is caused primarily caused by plasmodium. There are different species of mosquito and each one is usually associated with a particular type of disease.
Besides the one I already stated, the few other diseases that can be caused by mosquitoes include dengue fever (caused by dengue virus) and yellow fever (caused by flavivirus), Zika and West Nile virus. It is highly impossible that of all the available insects to be consumed one would think of even eating mosquitoes.
As usual, arguments are better presented with facts and not just statements, so let's thrash this out once and for all. Firstly, like we earlier explained, mosquitoes are vectors of blood parasite that causes disease in humans.
So the idea of eating them is disgusting. Though not all mosquitoes are blood parasites, for example the male ones which are known to suck mainly nectars or flowers and also fertilize the female ones which of course are the main blood parasites.
Verdict: Mosquitoes remain parasites, the chances are high that you won't be able to easily distinguish them even if it said that it is only the male ones that are selected. This is fallacious and not true.
Do they have enough nutrients essential for humans?
It is ridiculous to even think in the first place that mosquitoes contain vital nutrients for human. Mosquitoes though contains some vitamins and minerals as usual and this is also found in practically in most organisms.
However, these vitamins and nutrients are not needed by humans and even if they are needed, mosquitoes are so small that these nutrients will be inadequate for human need. Mosquitoes could serve other purposes but not as a source of food for human consumption.
The law of consequentialism, if we are to invoke it in the case, then we have to understand that the potential health risks of consuming mosquitoes far outweigh any potential nutritional benefits. The risk of disease transmission, exposure to pesticides, and toxicity make mosquitoes a hazardous food source.
The mere thought of the fact that mosquitoes suck blood and are naturally attracted to mammals for blood is even enough to turn anyone off from ever thinking of having it as a meal. Besides, these vectors of disease contain toxins that can trigger inflammatory reactions in the body, which of course would have an adverse reaction that can consequently cause severe cytokine release.
There are insects are termed edible and so far have been proven to contain nutrients that are beneficial to man, mosquitoes are never part of these list of insects. So who ever is passing the wrong notion or information that mosquitoes are made into burger and eaten is obviously doing so, possibly to attract traffic on to their YouTube channel or blog.
Verdict: Mosquitoes cannot provide sufficient nutrients for humans needs, hence the idea of eating them makes no sense. They are disease carriers and can be highly contaminated with some of these dangerous chemicals use to controls pest. I guess we need to state this below, probably it is being confused with a type of meal called Kunga Cakes that are made from flies and commonly eaten by some people in East Africa.
Kunga cake or kungu is a type of dish found in the African Great Lakes region, specifically countries surrounding Lake Malawi (Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique), made of millions of densely compressed midges or flies. In East Africa huge clouds of midges that rise out of the tropical rivers and lakes are caught by the millions and squeezed into solid blocks and cooked as kunga cake
Kunga cake made from midges and usually contains these insects in their large numbers. Midges share some similarities with mosquitoes in the sense that, they also suck blood, however, they are not known to be vectors of any disease. Insect consumption may tend to offer some nutritional benefits, they however, still cannot replace that derived from animals and plants sources.
Insects tend to pose more danger than animals, especially the flying ones. It is very difficult to ascertain where an insect must have migrated from or have been exposed to. For this reason, they could pose serious health challenge upon blind consumption by humans. However, we must give credit to the Bees and other economically beneficial insects that play key role in maintaining balance in the ecosystem.
On a personal note, I would not encourage killing these insects for food because they have vital roles to play in the ecosystem. I do not see how in the nearest future where insects will take the place of animals as main food source, no matter how well processed they may be.
I will simply conclude here by saying that insects as a choice of food is not really a common thing and not favoured by many as a main source of food. The video circulating claiming that mosquitoes are used in making supposed mosquito burger is highly misleading and totally false.
There is nothing like "Mosquito Burger", its all fictional and there is currently no documented paper nor even substantial evidences to back it up. I have added the Youtube video here for your viewing pleasure.
Alright, that's all I have for you today, see ya soonest.
References
Edible Insects versus Meat—Nutritional Comparison: Knowledge of Their Composition Is the Key to Good Health
Benefits and Challenges in the Incorporation of Insects in Food Products
