By Whitney Bauck for The Guardian.
Broadcast version by Edwin J. Viera for New York News Connection reporting for the Solutions Journalism Network-Public News Service Collaboration

Chef Joseph Yoon is used to people reacting negatively to his creations: he’s watched a child cry when she realized the pumpkin cake in her mouth was made with cricket powder, seen a grown adult spit out his bug-laden bite of food, and endured racist online comments aimed at him for suggesting that scorpions or mealworms are worth eating.

But none of that seems to faze Yoon. If anything, it just reaffirms the importance of his work destigmatizing entomophagy. As the founder of Brooklyn Bugs and a self-described “edible insect ambassador”, Yoon is on a mission to prove that eating bugs is good for the planet – and the palate.

Yoon’s work includes giving presentations everywhere from elementary schools to Harvard, partnering with institutions like the Smithsonian and Nasa on sustainable food initiatives, and occasionally cooking for journalists like me, all in an effort to raise awareness about the planetary benefits and culinary joys of eating bugs.

“I like to share the sense of hope and optimism and to be able to capture people’s imagination through cooking insects,” Yoon said from his kitchen table in Queens over a bite of stir-fried cicadas. “The question is: how do we start changing the perception from insects as pests to something that’s sustainably farmed, nutrient dense and that can add a tremendous amount of flavor to your food?”

Insect consumption has been highlighted by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization as an important tool in addressing food insecurity for a growing global population. And since agriculture is the second-largest greenhouse gas emitter after the energy sector, insect eating presents a compelling climate solution, too – crickets, for example, can provide the same amount of protein as cows for less than 0.1% of the emissions.

Yoon pointed out that people have been eating insects since long before the practice was recognized as a climate win. “There are over 2 billion people in 80% of the world’s nations that are already regularly consuming insects,” he said. But the stigma and yuck factor that persist in many places, including much of the US, are what Yoon is interested in changing.

His approach is to lead with the joy of eating. Learning to enjoy consuming bugs might require some retraining of your palate depending on where you grew up, he said, but we apply that training whenever we try new foods from unfamiliar cultures or admonish our kids to eat veggies.

“There are over 2,000 types of edible insects with wildly different flavor profiles, textures and functionality,” Yoon said. “Take garlic, for comparison. Say someone was like, ‘I love garlic, try a piece raw,’ and you’d never had it before, you’d probably be like, ‘This is really intense, I don’t like this.’ You have to learn to work with the ingredient, to roast it, to saute it … We’re just at the very tip of understanding how to truly work with insect protein.”

So where might the entomophagy-curious get started? And what do all these varieties of bug actually taste like? Yoon and I sat down together over a beautifully plated bug tasting menu served in his home kitchen to dig in to those questions and talk through a few of his go-to insect ingredients.

Crickets: a nutty flavor

“Crickets are commonly referred to as the gateway bug,” Yoon told me, serving up a few different varieties of his homemade kimchi that substitute cricket powder for fish sauce. “I’ve cooked easily over 100 unique dishes with crickets.”

Available in both whole and powdered form, crickets are farmed in indoor settings and given a savory, “nutty” flavor by roasting. Yoon noted that crickets are remarkably versatile – you can add the powder to smoothies, baked goods or hummus to increase the protein content, or use them to form a crunchy crust on fried foods.

Grasshoppers: a savory snack

There are many flavor and texture similarities between grasshoppers and crickets, Yoon said, though grasshoppers tend to be a bit meatier. But the grasshoppers he served me, nestled on a bed of delicately arranged avocado and mango, were something special: they were chapulines, seasoned with lime, chillies and salt. Gathered from Oaxaca, Mexico, these are some of the only insects that are caught outside in specially designated fields, Yoon said.

“These are also sold at [T-Mobile Park] in Seattle, and they sell out of grasshoppers every ball game,” he said of the stadium where the Mariners play. They were so tasty that I found that easy to believe – and they were the first insects I looked into buying for myself after leaving Yoon’s kitchen.

Ants: ‘insect caviar’

Yoon described black ants as “insect caviar” and “almost like Pop Rocks” while sprinkling them as a garnish over soft-boiled quail eggs. Their formic acid content gives black ants a bright, citrusy tang, which is why Yoon uses them in “virtually any application where I want a citrus flavor”, he said, whether that’s a vinaigrette or a cocktail.

Weaver ants, while similar to their ebony counterparts, are bigger and “a little woodsier, with a little bit of a lemon flavor”, said Yoon. They’re particularly popular as an ingredient in chutneys or salsas, he added.

Manchurian scorpions: a shrimp-like taste

Despite being some of the more intimidating-looking critters in his pantry – those stingers! – Manchurian scorpions actually have a rather familiar flavor, Yoon noted. “These are brined in salt and sun-dried. They’re arthropods just like shrimp, so they have a baby-shrimp-esque quality and flavor,” he said. The scorpion he served me was tantalizingly dripping in gochujang, but he said he also enjoys eating scorpions in the form of a dashi stock that combines them with mushrooms and kombu.

Bamboo worms, weevils and wasps: creamy, coconutty, sweet

Bamboo worms, which hail from south-east Asia, aren’t worms at all, but caterpillars that live in bamboo thickets. Yoon said that they’re so mild and creamy that they’re tasty enough to be eaten straight out of the bag.

Another creamy variety is the palm weevil: besides being a low-carbon protein source, palm weevils are also an invasive species that causes damage to palm trees, which is all the more reason to eat them. Yoon served the slightly coconutty critter toasted on a bed of roasted beets with a cricket-powder-infused green goddess dressing and a sprinkling of black ants.

For a different kind of sweetness, look to Japanese wasps. Their flavor “starts a little bit sweet and finishes with this really fascinating minerality,” Yoon said. In Japan, people sometimes add the wasps to sake to infuse the alcohol with their unique flavor.

Mopane worms: pungent and earthy

Popular in Botswana and Zimbabwe, mopane worms are actually the caterpillar form of the emperor moth. Gathered from the mopane tree, they are commonly enjoyed in stews or maize porridges. For the western palate, Yoon recommends using aromatics like onions and garlic to balance their pungent flavor.

Cicadas: a meaty treat

The surprisingly meaty cicadas Yoon served on a bed of rice are “the most buggy” item on the menu: with legs and wings intact, there’s no mistaking them for anything else. But their flavor, enhanced by stir-frying with chillies and garlic, was enjoyable enough that I’d happily eat them again. These specimens were extra-special for a few reasons – first off, Yoon foraged them himself, and second, they were part of last summer’s Brood X emergence, an occurrence that only happens once every 17 years. He also served some cicada kimchi to showcase other ways they can be eaten.

Superworms: nature’s cheese puff

When eaten alone, superworms have a somewhat cheesy flavor that makes them a nice pairing for fruit, Yoon said. Tasting one by itself, I could see what he meant – it was a little like nature’s cheese puff. He then pulled out brownies for dessert that he told me contained both mealworm powder and whole mealworms, which he described as tasting “nutty with a hint of cacao and dried mushrooms,” and though I could sense a bit of a unique crunch, the truth is they just tasted like deliciously chocolatey but otherwise normal brownies.

Yoon laughed. “That’s very commonly the reaction when people try my food. They’re like, ‘Oh, that’s just food.’ It’s not this crazy thing. And that’s really what I’m trying to help people appreciate, so they can see insects as a new ingredient they can integrate into the things they already like to eat.”


Whitney Bauck wrote this article for The Guardian.


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Book bans are on the rise in Maryland, according to a new report from PEN America.

The nonprofit that tracks issues of free expression says Maryland tied with South Carolina at ninth for the number of books banned during the last school year.

Three Maryland school districts tossed out a total of 64 books.

Carroll County was responsible for 59, due to a new policy there that bans titles with any sexually explicit content - a policy backed by Moms for Liberty, a national parental rights group.

Tasslyn Magnusson, a senior advisor with PEN America's Freedom to Read program, said parents have always had questions about books for their children and worked with librarians. But now, she said, the motive behind bans is changing.

"There are people who don't want to read the titles, but submit large challenges - 20, 30, 40 books at a time - and it's not about their child and their family," said Magnusson. "It's about all the students, and it's much more ideological and driven by much more political interests across the country."

Some of the titles banned in Maryland included notable works like The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison.

The PEN America research found books bans haven't been evenly distributed across the country. Iowa and Florida were responsible for more than 80% of the banned books in the last year.

And in the last school year, 29 states saw at least one booked banned. Magnusson said to change this trend, folks must show support for librarians before book challenges arise.

"You need to go into the public comment time of your school board meeting or send messages to your administration, before things happen in your community, about how much you love your librarians," said Magnusson. "Talk about how much you love diverse, inclusive literature that prepares your children for the world that they live in."

This past April, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed the Freedom to Read Act into law. It requires school officials to not remove books based on ideological, religious or partisan opposition.



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A new report quantifies the contribution of Wyoming's arts and culture sector to the state's economy and shows it is significant.

Wyoming in 2022 performed well in arts and culture compared to its neighboring states by the percentage of workers the sector employs, more than 4%, with a median salary of nearly $46,000 per year. The new analysis from the University of Wyoming showed the value added to the state by industry. Arts and culture added more than $1.3 billion in 2022, which was $350 million more than the agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting sectors.

Andrew Schneider, executive director of the Wyoming Arts Alliance, said it puts the effect of the arts on the state's economy in perspective.

"It's just as true to say that 'Wyoming is an arts and culture state,' as it is to say 'Wyoming is an agriculture state,'" Schneider explained. "Those two things are not in competition. "

Instead, Schneider pointed different industries in the state support each other. National models of similar data tend to overlook rural states' creative vitality, he noted, and he hopes this report will make way for Wyomingites to identify with the arts.

The report analyzes 2022 numbers by county and across the state, and the report's authors plan to analyze 2023 data when it becomes available. Schneider added will allow arts leaders at all levels to see how data is trending.

"We really wanted to be able to provide every county with a snapshot of what their creative economy looks like," emphasized. "And to facilitate a conversation with key arts and culture and community leaders around what their future looks like."

The counties with the highest percentage of arts- and culture-related employment in 2022 were Sheridan at 9.6%, followed by Teton, Johnson and Park.

By Ilana Newman for The Daily Yonder.
Broadcast version by Eric Galatas for Colorado News Connection for the Public News Service/Daily Yonder Collaboration

Before Madeleine Ahlborn bought a church, the most expensive thing she owned was a 2002 Toyota 4Runner with 340,000 miles on it. Now, Ahlborn is the founder of The Church Project, a community art center in Monte Vista, Colorado, housed in an old Baptist church, with no relation to the religion.

An artist herself, Ahlborn was looking for a new studio in Monte Vista (population 4,247) when the owner of her old studio space offered up another building he owned - a church down the street. Ahlborn made "a handshake deal" to rent a room upstairs. A few months later, he asked her if she wanted to buy the building.

"We were just trying to build this community of creatives," Ahlborn said. The church building allowed her to do just that - and more. Currently, the space holds exhibitions, open studio time, workshops, and performances, with plans for much more. Ahlborn wants it to be an "intergenerational space", for families and community members, not just professional artists. On Sundays, the church is open for "Sunday School" - free art workshops or open creative time.

Surrounded by 14,000 foot mountains and holding the headwaters of the Rio Grande River, the 8,000 square mile San Luis Valley is a high-elevation desert landscape. The region grows the most potatoes in the state of Colorado and has a long history of agriculture. Tourism and outdoor recreation are growing industries in the area.

After moving to the San Luis Valley, Ahlborn wasn't sure how to be a professional artist in a rural community. She also saw so many people in her community making art on the side, without really referring to themselves as "artists". She wanted to make sure there was a space for all of these artists to gather and create.

"There are so many ways to be an artist and you can be a great artist anywhere. You don't have to be in a big city," Ahlborn told the Daily Yonder.

Arts and culture accounted for 3.7% of Colorado's GDP in 2022, providing more than 100,000 jobs across the state. South Central Colorado, including the six counties that make up the San Luis Valley and six additional surrounding counties, had 14% growth in employment in creative industries between 2010 and 2019.

In 2022, Monte Vista received a Recreation Economies for Rural Communities (RERC) grant, a program in collaboration with EPA's Office of Community Revitalization, the USDA Forest Service, the Northern Border Regional Commission, the Appalachian Regional Commission, and the Denali Commission. RERC supports rural communities with planning to grow their recreation economy, revitalize main streets, and increase equitable access to the outdoors.

Some of the goals that the city of Monte Vista and San Luis Valley Great Outdoors (SLV GO!), the partners for the grant, have are to revitalize their main street and grow small businesses, as well as improve access to the outdoors for residents. Ahlborn, who also works with SLV GO!, realized that the Church Project fits perfectly into these broader goals for Monte Vista.

A future goal for the Church Project is to provide funding for the Rural Journalism Institute of the San Luis Valley, a project Ahlborn is a part of in collaboration with the founders of the Alamosa Citizen, Chris Lopez and MaryAnne Talbott. The Church Project currently hosts a podcast recording studio for the Alamosa Citizen and the Rural Journalism Institute to help dismantle transportation barriers between Monte Vista and the city of Alamosa, 17 miles away.

Ahlborn sees art as vital in rural communities to provide belonging and create connections. "Art is kind of this catalyst to bring people together, whether you call yourself an artist or not," she said.

Ahlborn sees the Church Project as a third space, separate from work and home, free for people to find community and have a place to go. She wants everyone to feel at home at the Church Project, whether or not they identify as an artist.

"Monte Vista generally has been seen as a drive through town. There weren't a lot of places to stop," Ahlborn said. But she sees this changing, with her work with the Church Project, as well as the work being done by the city through the RERC grant.


Ilana Newman wrote this article for The Daily Yonder.


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