Public Radio International (PRI)

Larvae tacos and caramelized mealworm icecream are on the menu at a new food cart in San Francisco. Chef Monica Martínez told PRI’s The World that Don Bugito is a street food cart project based on edible insects and pre-Hispanic Mexican cuisine.

“When people ask why should I eat insects? I say, ‘Well, in pre-Hispanic times, in Mexico, before we had cows … the native people, the indigenous people used to have in their diets very strong insects, edible insects,” Martínez said. The insects were rich in proteins and vitamins, containing many of the same vital nutrients found in, say, milk, Martínez added.