As a third-generation cricket farmer in West Monroe, La., Jack Armstrong has seen the family business evolve. When his grandfather started it in the 1940s, most of the crickets were sold for bait. His father began selling crickets as food for iguanas, bearded dragons and other exotic pets. Now, Armstrong is taking the business in a new direction: breeding insects for people to eat.
Though only a small fraction of the roughly 12 million crickets Armstrong sells a week end up on people’s plates now, he’s hopeful that interest in edible insects will rise. He explained why in a recent interview with The Times.