A mother from Utah is seeking answers from her local school district as her child was urged by her teacher to consume grasshoppers as part of a climate change project.
Amanda Wright, the mother, expressed her concerns on “Jesse Watters Primetime” show, stating that her daughter, a sixth-grader, was tasked with writing an essay advocating for humans to eat insects instead of cows as a source of protein, which some people say are responsible for ozone layer destruction through methane gas emissions.
“I already went to the school and had a meeting with the principal and six other staff and nothing was done. So I am planning on taking this to the district,” Wright said. “I am definitely upset. This is an uncomfortable topic that they’re pushing this agenda on our children, and I’m definitely going to be taking this way up the ladder further.”
The teacher was caught on camera saying, “There’s only one right answer to this essay, and it’s that Americans should be eating bugs. Everyone in the world is eating them, it’s healthy for the environment, and there’s just, there’s only one right answer.”
The teacher continued, “It’s kind of weird that I gave you a topic where there is only one right answer. We don’t want to eat bugs and it’s gross. But should we be eating bugs? Yeah, because we’re killing the world by raising cows and animals. So we need to, not get rid of cows, but like, try to balance our diet so that not so much of our land is being used to raise cows, cause it’s killing the Ozone layer.”
According to Fox, the teacher later apologized, explaining to Wright that the “indoctrination” that humans must eat bugs to protect the environment was provided in a district training. She explained that she did not know there were downsides to eating bugs and apologized for not allowing students to write about an alternative perspective.
“I honestly don’t know what the protocol is for this. I’m not sure what – if the teacher is going to get any heat in this. I’m more concerned about the district and where this curriculum came from and also the principal of the school being very condescending in emails that were sent by concerned parents,” the mother explained. “Her response was just absolutely rude and trying to make it look like my daughter had these videos out of context which I don’t appreciate.”
Like any food, it is essential to handle and prepare insects correctly to avoid the risk of food-borne illness. If consumed, insects need to be sourced from reputable suppliers, cooked thoroughly, and consumed fresh or stored properly to prevent contamination. It is also worth noting that some people may have allergies or adverse reactions to consuming insects.