Grub with Bugs: Swiss Offer Bug Burgers in Grocery

The supermarket grocery chain in Switzerland, Coop, has started a bit of a food fight over their new offerings.

Coop recently started retailing burgers and balls made with meat and bugs. This is the first major move towards bug consumption in Europe. Coop says it’s trying to market the consumer that had previously been skeptical of eating bugs as a protein substitute and “preserves the planet’s resources.” Last May, there was a change in Swiss law that began allowing sale of mealworm larvae, house crickets, and migratory locust. Christophe Derrien, chief of the International Platform of Insects for Food and Feed says that, “It’s the first time that a state has authorized human consumption of insects in such a firm, explicit way in Europe.”

Photo courtesy Essento: Burgers
Photo by: Tina Sturzenegger

For now, 7 Coop stores in Switzerland are serving the dishes prepared by the start-up company, Essento. Essento is based out of Zurich and believes in normalizing the consumption of bugs for sustainability reasons. “Insects are regarded as the protein of the future and are extremely sustainable and healthy,” according to a translation of their website. Essento says the protein found in insects is comparable, in both quality and quantity, to meat and fish.

In fact, despite Western World aversion to them, consuming bugs isn’t just healthy for us, but for our planet. Insects take up less space, production emits dramatically fewer greenhouse gases, and for every 1 kilogram of feed you produce 12 times more consumer-friendly protein than with cattle. The world’s population is expected to reach 9 billion by the year 2050 and normalizing the consumption of bugs could save millions of people from starving. It’s estimated that 2.7 billion hectares of land is used to raise livestock and another 100 million hectares are used to grow their feed.

Essento’s burgers are about ⅓ mealworm larvae. A 3.5 ounce burger has about 10 grams of protein in it and less fat than a traditional burger. Spokeswoman for Coop, Andrea Bergmann, says that they aren’t going to disclose official sales numbers just yet, but the bug beef has been “very successful from day one and have been sold out quickly everywhere.” Coop plans to have a broader launch of bug burgers and balls (possibly other dishes) next year.

Photo from happy customer: Raphael Berner

According to people who have tried the bug burgers, they are heavily spiced and don’t taste like bugs. The texture, admittedly, is not the exact same as something that was 100% beef. It has a small crunch. Just pretend you’re eating potato chips on it. Like a normal burger, you dress it up with condiments and a bun.

The insect balls are made a little differently but can also be accompanied with buns or condiments. Inside the insect balls you’ll find a mixture of mealworm larvae with cilantro, onions and chickpeas.

Photo courtesy of Essento of Bug Balls
Photo by: Tina Sturzenegger

It’s legal to eat certain varieties of bugs in the U.S. and there are over 1,900 types of edible insects in the world. Would you give them a try if they dressed up as a burger?

Let Conrad & Kacie know!