3-Minute Insect Essential #56 from the INSECT NEWS NETWORK

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Bugs and Our Food Supply, w/ Brian Dysktra from Ethnobeeology and Aaron Dossey from All Things Bugs (INN #56). To digest the full broadcast, visit www.insectnewsnetwork.com and type in number 56 - that's #56 into the search bar. It's more palatable than you might think, so please help spread the buzzzzzz . . . .

Alright all you lover's here's a stat to make your heart sing:

It has been estimated that 58 billion pounds or $1.5 billion dollars worth of chocolate is sold in the week leading up to Valentine's Day.

If the romantic qualities of chocolate are bona fide, well - that's a lot of lovin'.

And you can thank the insects for all of it.

And there are other industries as well, that are each intimately reliant upon bugs: honey, silk, coffee, corn, wheat, and rice.

These are some of the most desired products in the world, serving our health, our wealth and our future. to the tune of some $170 billion worth of commerce around the planet.

This episode of the INN is all about Food for Thought - a deep dive into the world of sustenance and coexistence. and how the little critters impact and are impacted by our food supply. We also look at the how bugs are part of our foodstuffs as well.

Also on the show I pleased to welcome for the first time two on-air guests: from the outrageously interesting Facebook page Ethnobeeology I talk to Brain Dykstra, native plant and pollinator expert who is also one of the world's expert on cultural entomologists of our favorite little honeys - the over 20,000 bee species on the planet. He has cataloged a huge array of rare and esoteric traditions of the human and BEEings from cultures around the world.

Also on the program is a return guest Aaron Dossey, who created the Facebook page All Things Bugs and a recipient of a Gates Foundation grant to explore future food security by creating high nutritional insect food. Why talk about the practical realities of insects as food.