At a time when the disparity between food production and global population threatens to reach critical levels, Andreas Johnsen’s documentary asks whether insects can fill the growing protein gap. Johnsen focuses on one of the teams fielded by Denmark’s Nordic Food Lab, who are tasked with globetrotting to places where bugs are already part of the local diet in order to sample the cuisine. Here, chef Ben Reade and food researcher Josh Evans embark on expeditions to Australia, Mexico, Kenya, Uganda, Peru, Japan, and Italy, joining locals as they forage for particularly savory examples of insect life (in Italy, bugs are employed in the production of cheese), and then happily consume such delicacies as bulbous termite queens, grasshoppers, and honey ants, describing tastes as they munch. Back home, the pair visit a bug farm where insects are raised in bulk (Ben and Josh note that these do not taste as good as the ones they dug up themselves) and prepare a gourmet meal for a few appreciative guests. Their conclusions, however, are not Pollyanna-ish: both doubt whether insects can be the answer to the problem of a sustainable food supply, and when they make a presentation at a U.N. conference on food and agriculture, they are dismayed to find--after talking with a corporate type who opines that the insect market "smells like money"--that it will simply become another part of the business swallowed up in capitalist profiteering. Featuring both the documentary and the original eight-episode TV series, extras include deleted scenes. An offbeat entry (entrée?) that will likely appeal to socially-conscious (and adventurous) foodies, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)
Bugs
(2016) 2 discs. 76 min. DVD: $29.95 ($349 w/PPR from www.kinolorberedu.com). DRA. Kino Lorber (avail. from most distributors). Volume 33, Issue 3
Bugs
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