Creepy crawlies on the menu

The European Union is conducting a £2.65m project to investigate the nutritional value of eating insects.

Experts in Brussels believe insects could be a vital source of nutrition which will relieve food shortages and help save the environment.

Proponents of entomophagy - insect eating - argue that bugs are a low-cholesterol, low-fat protein food source, reports the Daily Telegraph.

According to one study, small grasshoppers offer 20% protein and just six per cent fat, compared to lean ground beef's 24% protein and 18% fat.

Crickets are also said to be high in calcium, termites rich in iron, while a giant silkworm moth larvae provides all the daily copper and riboflavin requirements.

Insects emit less greenhouse gases than cattle and require less feed, supposedly making them environmentally-friendly.

And supporters claim they could help feed the world, because they are so abundant they provide at least 200kg of biomass for every human.

Professor Marcel Dicke, leading a team at Wageningen University, in the Netherlands, said: "By 2020, you will be buying insects in supermarkets.

"We will be amazed that in 2011 people didn't think it was going to happen.

"We have already seen the introduction of eggplants, sushi, things people never ate here. I think it will start with ground-up insects in sauces and burgers. Grinding them up will make them look more palatable."