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film review

Ben Reade holds two palm weevil larvae in the Peruvian Amazon, in the documentary Bugs.Andreas Johnsen

Not to make a mountain out of an anthill, but a flourishing global population needs to be fed and people are turning their attention to edible insects for their protein needs.

Grubs as grub isn't a new idea, but Andreas Johnsen's documentary Bugs looks at the subject in a lively and thoughtful way. We follow a chef and a food-science researcher from the Nordic Food Lab in Copenhagen around the world as they test out the deliciousness of such things as the fractionated fat of black soldier fly larvae – maggot meat, by the way.

Though it might initially look like a wacky foodie adventure show, Bugs has a conscience: The intrepid protagonists may love their locusts, but they're mindful of corporate food conglomerates and others who would exploit creepy-crawly harvesting for big bucks rather than developing the bug business as part of a long-range plan for food diversity and eco-sustainability.

How do others react to the duo's principles? Let's just say that nobody likes a buzzkill.

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