Following the success of last years Global Pestaurant Day, we are happy to announce its return this year on the 3rd of June.
The aim of Pestaurant is to raise awareness around the health benefits of eating insects, a diet which is largely supported by the United Nations. For example, did you know that edible insects are more sustainable, and eco friendly food source than chicken or beef?
Last year’s event went down as a great success with 11 different countries worldwide participating in Global Pestaurant day.
Rentokil pop-up restaurants appeared all over the world on the 4th June 2014, serving up delicious edible insects, as well as pest inspired snacks like BBQ pigeon burgers. 13,300 people worldwide explored their adventurous side and got their teeth stuck into 180,000 bugs!
At each location our local teams of pest control experts were onsite to dish out helpful pest control advice from prevention tips to the process of our pest control services. This information was available to both residential and commercial customers, helping to keep our customers obtain a pest free environment.
Our event in Dublin was a roaring success and since then we’ve taken our Pop-up Pestaurant all around the country feeding the Irish people things they never thought they would eat!
Why Pestaurant?
You might be thinking, what this is all about?
Well, the aim around pestaurant is to raise awareness around the health benefits of entomophagy, which refers to the process of eating insects.
Insects have been included in the diet of people all over the world for thousands of years. However entomophagy has been shaped into a weird taboo, with many people rejecting the idea of consuming insects.
At our Pestaurant event last year, many people found that once they got over the initial fear of consuming an insect, they are actually quite delicious.
Did you know that edible insects are actually extremely healthy? Crickets contain twelve times the amount of edible protein per 100 lbs than beef does and contains all the amino acids your body needs.
Sustainable Food Source
As well as being very good good for you, insects are also proven to be a sustainable food source.
Not only are edible insects high in protein, low in fat, and rich in vitamins and nutrients, but they are also a far more sustainable food source. Not only do crickets produce 100 x less greenhouse gasses than cows, but it also only takes 1 gallon of water to produce 1lbs. To put this into perspective it roughly takes 800 gallons of water to produce 1lbs of pork!
The amount of water used to produce 1lbs of edible insects is not the only beneficial factor of this sustainable food source. Insects have a very small carbon footprint. i.e. They take up less space to farm than cows, pigs and chickens, meaning that far more edible protein can be created per square inch.
On top of the small amount of land required to produce edible insects, they also require far less food. It is reported that insects are twice as efficient as chicken and pigs in converting food into edible tissue, and five times more efficient than cattle.
It is because of both their health and financial benefits that the UN are strongly supporting more people adopt an insect rich diet in a mist to help fight world hunger. Areas in which both livestock and crops struggle to produce a constant stream of food, edible insects are the answer.
Pestaurant is returning bigger and better this year in 12 different countries worldwide! At each venue we will be serving a range of edible insects and pest inspired treats. From dried mealworms and curry flavoured locust to scorpion lollipops to local pest dishes.Library
In Ireland our event will be held at our Limerick office and we can’t wait to convert all of our staff to the Pestaurant way of thinking!
Keep an eye out for our Pestaurant calendar for our next Pop-up event coming to a town near you soon!
Explore your adventurous side and get your teeth stuck into some pests!
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