David George Gordon had a unique impact on the culinary industry, as one of his cookbooks included recipes with a primary component which would not occur in many a chef’s idea; bugs. The idea of eating insects and invertebrates would repulse many of us, but actually it’s not as mad as we might presume it to be. As Gordon himself has stated, eating bugs was not only delicious but was also sustainable for the environment. He was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1950 and became a naturalist after graduating with a biology degree from Northeastern Illinois University in 1980. His work then led to him writing the infamous The Eat-a-Bug Cookbook (1998), which if you look beyond the shock-value of the recipes themselves, there is a thought-provoking concept about eating eco-friendly recipes and also highly nutritious food too.
Eating bugs had become common since the dawn of early humans, as they became a source of protein and fat. Studies of ancient human teeth would establish that they used to eat species like flies and mosquitoes, and also scavenged bees’ nests for larvae and honey. This diet would continue onto the age of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, when humans would eat species like caterpillars, beetles and grasshoppers. While humans would still continue to eat insects, it wasn’t as common as long ago in ancient history, particularly in the western world. The only species of bugs that would be eaten in common western cuisine are crustaceans like crab, squid and lobster. However, an entomophagy expert named David George Gordon would change that with his award-winning The Eat-a-Bug Cookbook, which then advocated eating species of insects due to it being an excellent source of protein and is also more eco-friendly than eating common meats like steak. Gordon described crickets as a ‘superfood’ due to it having a high amount of protein, and was recognised as an excellent source of protein in common western cuisine in 2013. A report from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) stated that eating insects could help fight world hunger, and also said how insects like wasps and beetles were ‘underutilised’ as a food nourishment and the nutritional value of insects are “particularly important as a food supplement for undernourished children”. It also acknowledged that although it’s highly likely that people have eaten species of insects (eg crustaceans) without realising it, ‘consumer disgust’ could be a barrier if restaurants were to put insects on their menu, even if it was encouraged by the FAO themselves. In 2018, there were clinical trials which showed that cricket powder can improve gut health of humans. The consequential recognition of the importance of adding insects to our diet, improving our nutrition and helping the environment shows that Gordon’s bug cookbook isn’t just shock value as many might presume it to be, but it has sparked a discussion on how eating foods like crickets can actually improve our health.
While scientists like Friedrich Simon Bodenheimer, Ronald L. Taylor and Gene DeFoliart have also published work on the consumption of insects, David George Gordon’s work has also played an important part of the advocation of eating insects, with nutritionist and food scientists recognising it’s nutritional value, meaning that he’s left a significant legacy in the food industry following his sad passing on 4th August at age 76. His work subsequently showed us that eating insects isn’t as vulgar as many will assume, but is in fact eco-friendly and an excellent source of nutrition, with crickets indeed being dubbed ‘superfood’. The United Nations also published a report advocating for the very thing that Gordon himself spread awareness of for so many years and trials by food scientist have also established this. It goes without saying that thoughts will remain with Gordon’s family and friends, who have had the pleasure of knowing him as a person, and The Bug Chef himself David George Gordon will, along with being a warm and funny person, also be remembered the Godfather of Insect Cuisine.
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