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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 31, 2015)
EW’S 2015 HEALTH ISSUE White Buggin’ Out Dental Portland company with Eugene roots produces powdered crickets | By William Kennedy C harles Wilson is founder and CEO of Portland-based Cricket Flours, a platform food ingredient and con- sumer food product company. Wilson says his mother’s gluten-intolerance in- spired the business. He founded the enterprise during his last year of law school at the University of Oregon. “Ten or 15 years ago my mom got diagnosed,” Wilson tells EW, “and she couldn’t have gluten anymore.” About four years ago, Wilson and his sisters were also di- agnosed gluten intolerant. Wilson’s family had to make signif- icant changes to their diets. “That’s what led me to find cricket protein sources,” he says. “The whole idea is to get this new type of food ingredient into your favorite recipes — dishes, shakes, smoothies. It’s basically a way to incorporate more pro- tein into your diet.” The crickets used in Cricket Flours’ products are raised in facilities approved for human consumption by the FDA. The insects’ diets are tightly controlled. “This way there’s no pesticides,” Wilson says. “Or, if we want a non-GMO, organic-type thing, we can do that.” “At about six weeks they’re able to be processed,” Wilson explains, “and they’re either frozen, freeze-dried or baked — depends on the process used. The moisture is removed. It’s milled like a normal type of flour, and that 100-percent pure cricket flour is used in our different product lines.” Cricket Flours has produced a cookbook called All Cricket, No Bull, which is about Bird Clinic 541-344-8302 • 1400 Mill st, Eugene EMERGENCY & ON-GOING DENTISTRY to go into its second edition. Wilson says cricket protein is often used in energy bars, but it’s slowly making its way into shakes, smoothies and all manner of baked goods. “It’s still kind of an emerging market,” Wilson admits. “You can use it in dressings and sauces. It has a slightly nutty or neu- tral taste, and it can be incorporated into a lot of dishes you are probably already making at home.” “If you use our all-purpose baking flour,” Wilson adds, “you get about 35 percent more protein in addition to iron and calci- um and magnesium.” He says cricket flour has about the same amount of iron as spinach. So how do Wilson and his company surmount the possible consumer “ick-factor” around eating insects? “It’s something that we embrace,” he laughs. “It’s a little bit out there,” he admits, “but when you start talking about the sustainability or the environmental effect — we use less land, we’re more efficient than beef — when you start talking about these other aspects, it becomes a little bit more normal.” “It’s like rediscovering something that 80 percent of the world already eats,” Wilson says. “In the Pacific Northwest, we have Native Americans who pound and grind up insects. It’s going back to what our ancestors already knew.” for Low/No income residents of Lane County Hablamos Español • Accepting New Patients Accepts Trillium/OHP, Salud and under insured patients 75 Health Issue special $ EXAM AND X-RAYS If you want to stop drinking Alcoholics Anonymous can help For more information about Cricket Flours and its product, go to cricketflours.com. EVI by phone 24 hours: 541-342-4113 www. eviaa.org | www.aa.org Do you fi nd yourself setting health goals year after year and not getting results? Are you frustrated because you seem to make the right health choices but are still not getting the results you desire? Mayo Clinic trained doctor shares real life applications in this easy to read, practical guidebook. THE AUTHOR PAUSES TO CONTEMPLATE HIS DECISION TO EAT CRICKETS Available Now at your favorite bookseller and for kindle and nook. PHOTO: TRASK BEDORTHA eugeneweekly.com • December 31, 2015 13
