It’s a powerful biological response that has preserved our species for millennia. But now it may be keeping us from pursuing strategies that would improve the environment, the economy, even our own health. So is it time to dial down our disgust reflex? You can help fix things — as Stephen Dubner does in this 2021 episode — by chowing down on some delicious insects. SOURCES:Paul Rozin, professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania.Val Curtis, late disgustologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.Sandro Ambuehl, economist at the University of Zurich.Emily Kimmins, R&D lead for the sensory and consumer-science team for Kraft Heinz.Iliana Sermeno, former chef at The Black Ant. RESOURCES:“Stink Bugs Could Add Cilantro Flavor to Red Wine,” by Alex Berezow (Live Science, 2017).“Edible insects: Future Prospects for Food and Feed Security,” by the F.A.O. (United Nations, 2013).“I Hate to Break it to You, but You Already Eat Bugs,” by Kyle Hill (Scientific American, 2013).“Five Banned Foods and One That Maybe Should Be,” by Leah Binkovitz (Smithsonian Magazine, 2012).“Effects of Different Types of Antismoking Ads on Reducing Disparities in Smoking Cessation Among Socioeconomic Subgroups,” by Sarah J. Durkin, Lois Biener, and Melanie A. Wakefield (American Journal of Public Health, 2009).“Flesh Trade,” by Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt (The New York Times, 2006).“Feeding Poultry Litter to Beef Cattle,” by Jay Daniel and K.C. Olson (University of Missouri, 2005). EXTRAS:"Why Does Everyone Hate Rats?" by Freakonomics Radio (2025).
Full Episode
Hey there, it's Stephen Dubner. We just finished publishing our series on rats, which reminded me of an episode from the archives that I thought you might like to hear. You will understand within the first few seconds why I was reminded of this episode. It was first published in early 2021, although we began making this episode in early 2020 and put it aside when the pandemic struck.
Anyway, we have updated facts and figures as necessary. I hope you enjoy it. As always, thanks for listening. If you sat down at my kitchen table and I put an insect in front of you, maybe a cricket or a grasshopper, would you eat it? If you answered no, and I'm guessing you did, then why not? Your answer likely has something to do with disgust.
But have you ever wondered why eating an insect is disgusting? You ever wondered why disgust exists? And what else do you find disgusting? Are there any universal disgusts?
Fecal material, for example, is inherently disgusting. Every person on the planet, with a few strange exceptions, finds fecal material something they want to stay away from.
But once you get past poop, absolutes are hard to find.
There are enormous variations in disgust.
Consider, for instance, the animals we eat and don't eat.
I'm a massive dog lover, but I would eat dog out of curiosity.
In California, you cannot eat horse, whereas in many European countries, you have horse butcheries.
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