Cockroach Milk: Nature’s Newest Superfood, Man’s Latest Mistake
Scientists have once again discovered something remarkably nutritious that absolutely nobody wants to eat.
LOS ANGELES, CA – Researchers studying the Pacific beetle cockroach found that its milk-like secretion contains protein crystals with roughly three times the energy density of cow’s milk. The discovery was apparently significant enough to earn the researchers an Ig Nobel Prize, proving that somewhere in academia there is a department dedicated to answering questions the rest of us never thought to ask.
How do we know cockroach milk is nutritious? Because researchers spent years milking a species of cockroach. It was a rigorous, peer-reviewed process that everyone involved wishes they could un-know.
How do we know cockroach milk is a superfood? Maybe it's because a scientist looked at a terrifying, indestructible pest and thought, "This needs a tiny bowl of cereal." But it's more likely that a team of grant-funded researchers spent years milking cockroaches—producing a peer-reviewed study that everyone involved deeply wishes they could un-know.
The species, Diploptera punctata, produces the secretion to feed its young. Researchers used sophisticated techniques to analyze its protein crystals and determined the "milk' has an unusually high nutritional value. That's great news, science has discovered an incredibly energy-dense new superfood!
The bad news? Only scientists could miss the big picture. Even if cockroach milk turns out to be the nutritional equivalent of discovering a protein shake designed by NASA, producing enough of it to make a commercially viable product would be difficult. But, convincing consumers to pour it into a smoothie or their morning coffee may be considerably harder.
The real breakthrough, therefore, may not be figuring out how to produce cockroach milk. It may be finding the marketing executive brave enough to put “MADE FROM COCKROACHES” on the front of the carton.
Based on an article published by apnews.com.
How do we know cockroach milk is nutritious? Because researchers spent years milking a species of cockroach. It was a rigorous, peer-reviewed process that everyone involved wishes they could un-know.
How do we know cockroach milk is a superfood? Maybe it's because a scientist looked at a terrifying, indestructible pest and thought, "This needs a tiny bowl of cereal." But it's more likely that a team of grant-funded researchers spent years milking cockroaches—producing a peer-reviewed study that everyone involved deeply wishes they could un-know.
The species, Diploptera punctata, produces the secretion to feed its young. Researchers used sophisticated techniques to analyze its protein crystals and determined the "milk' has an unusually high nutritional value. That's great news, science has discovered an incredibly energy-dense new superfood!
The bad news? Only scientists could miss the big picture. Even if cockroach milk turns out to be the nutritional equivalent of discovering a protein shake designed by NASA, producing enough of it to make a commercially viable product would be difficult. But, convincing consumers to pour it into a smoothie or their morning coffee may be considerably harder.
The real breakthrough, therefore, may not be figuring out how to produce cockroach milk. It may be finding the marketing executive brave enough to put “MADE FROM COCKROACHES” on the front of the carton.
Based on an article published by apnews.com.
