home of the original ‘edible insect’

You know… the government has finally gotten something right for a change. They have been wisely spending loads of money and valuable time researching and writing all sorts of fine scientific reports of how the human population can benefit from eating ‘edible’ insects that may be potentially good for your health and well-being. ‘Edible’ insects such as crickets, locusts, mealworms, weevils, waxworms, termites, ants or even caterpillars and butterflies. And, you never know, per the FDA you may have already been enjoying a ‘edible’ maggot or two in your store-bought canned tomato sauce because “it is not economically possible to grow and process ‘raw’ food products totally free of non-hazardous, naturally occurring, unavoidable defects”…. isn’t that interesting…

In their wonderful reports and findings they discovered that feasting on these ‘edible insect’ delicacies may not only benefit your health and well-being but also possibly benefit the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from feeding all that corn and soybeans in those factory feedlot environments and decrease modern agricultural usage of land and water.

But I’m so incredibly disappointed that they keep forgetting to list our most favorite ‘edible’ insect – the hay maggot. They have lived and thrived in countries around the world since Bible times. And where we live is also key habitat for hay maggots. Oh, and it is probably the most highly prized delicacy (well, mostly….next to bacon).

Our hay maggots are environmentally friendly. They don’t require grain or soybeans to develop and grow. Not to say that grain doesn’t touch their lips, they get a protein block that does have some spent brewers grain, but they do prefer grass. They are not confined in a single small pen, day-in and day-out. Naturally, they are free-range hay maggots since that is how they are designed. Sometimes they need to be steered about but, overall, they have fresh air, open space and forage (that is still under a foot of snow <sigh>).

Hay maggots easily convert ol’ dried grass, weeds …even fancy hay bales into natural fertilizer and soil, feeding the ground with nutrients (fancy word for poop and urine) that the microbiology, beneficial insects and plants can use. If you have stacks of unwanted hay laying about, taking up valuable space, our hay maggots can easily get the job done by making them disappear, turning them into something wonderful for the benefit of the flora and fauna. People can’t eat hay, I don’t know why they make it except strictly for the benefit of feeding hay maggots.

And when they finally get to their prime and are carefully selected for harvest, they are a versatile product that’s delicious roasted, broiled, grilled and even in soups and stews. Add a side of baked potato topped with (real) butter and (real) sour cream, plus a vegetable of your choice topped with (real) butter, well, then your meal is complete. And you never want to overcook your grass-fed hay maggots. It makes them…well…. a little tough and chewy.

The health benefits provided by grass-fed hay maggots, just to name a few, is that they are an excellent source of protein, iron, essential vitamins such as niacin, riboflavin, vitamins B6 and B12, and zinc. And it just doesn’t end there, nearly 99% of a hay maggot is utilized in every day household uses all the way into pharmaceutical and industrial products. Below is a B.U.G. (aka bovine user guide) display to aid in understanding the benefits of hay maggots beyond the dinner plate.

So the next time you visit your local market, benefit your well-being and make something wonderful out of the original ‘edible’ insect… homegrown, USA-born, raised and processed grass-fed hay maggot.

Until next time…
~hobo