For thousands of years, dinner included insects — and that old menu may help feed a warmer world

To many modern diners, eating insects sounds like a dare. To most of human history, it was simply dinner. Durham University archaeologist Lisa-Marie Shillito has traced evidence of insect eating across thousands of years — roasted, ground and gathered foods that sustained communities long before industrial farming. Writing in World Archaeology, she argues that this deep heritage matters now: insects need far less land and water than conventional livestock, and remembering that they were ordinary, valued food — not a novelty stunt — could help today's food systems become lighter on the planet.

SDG 2 · Zero hunger