Some things are hard to unsee. Like the time a friend cracked open a protein bar and saw the word “cricket” on the label. He blinked. Read it again. Then quietly folded the wrapper back over and set it on the table like it was radioactive.

“You going to eat that?” I asked.

He shook his head.

“You?”

“…maybe.”

There’s something about insects — even clean, cooked ones — that makes many people instinctively recoil. We know they’re edible. We just don’t want to. But that reaction isn’t built into us — it’s built into our culture.

In some parts of the world, eating insects is as normal as eating fish. In others, it’s a challenge on a reality show. But neither reaction changes the facts: insects are sustainable, nutritious, and — in some cases — even recommended by Jehovah himself.

Leviticus 11 lists a few categories of insects as clean. One verse says: “You may eat these: the migratory locust according to its kind, the edible locust… the cricket and the grasshopper.” That’s not a dare. It’s just a detail — tucked into a chapter about holiness and hygiene.

And centuries later, Peter was told in a vision: “Stop calling defiled the things God has cleansed.” (Acts 10:15) That wasn’t about diet — it was about people. But the language is striking, isn’t it? When Jehovah calls something clean, it’s not our place to say otherwise.

So what happens when cultural disgust collides with scriptural permission?

Well — nothing, really. People eat what they eat. But it’s worth noticing how much of our reaction is shaped by habit, not truth.

Today, crickets are being farmed intentionally and used in school lunch programs across parts of Africa and Southeast Asia. Not as a dare — but as a design. Protein-dense. Easy to raise. Affordable. It’s a thoughtful choice in places where thoughtful choices matter.

In fact, crickets provide more protein per pound than beef — with far less feed and space. They don’t release methane. They thrive in small, sustainable setups. Jehovah built a food source into something we’ve spent most of our lives swatting.

So no, you don’t have to eat bugs. You probably won’t.

But it’s a little humbling to realize that if you did — you’d be participating in something Jehovah describes as clean.

Eat bugs.

Only kidding.

Still — what else have we dismissed because it didn’t look right?

And what can we learn about Jehovah from a design that still works… even when we squirm?