Standards and Regulations

Since locusts were declared kosher in 2010, an Israeli chef has been showcasing dishes made with them at a Jerusalem restaurant.

This week, swarms of locusts that devastated Egypt's crops have reached neighboring Israel. With Passover just around the corner, many news organizations are recalling the biblical story of the Exodus, where the locust plague was one of the ten great plagues sent down upon Pharaoh and his people.

Just as Israeli farmers are worried about insects destroying their crops, other Israelis have proposed solving the pest problem from an edible perspective: Why not eat all these guys?

This is indeed a neat solution, but there is a problem: the rabbis cannot agree on whether locusts are kosher.

One of the main drivers of the legalization of cooking locusts is the famous Israeli chef Moshe·Basson, who appeared on Wednesday's morning news show, taught everyone how to make a concoction with locusts.

"They taste like a cross between sunflower seeds and tiny shrimps, and are pretty bland," Basson told The Guardian. "I enjoy them, but people seem to try them more for the novelty than the flavor."

Basson is known for his biblically inspired dishes. A few years ago, his restaurant, The Eucalyptus, served fried locusts as dessert at a well-publicized banquet aimed at reviving an ancient kosher culinary tradition in the area.

Others have suggested trying locusts as a Passover side dish: "As the only kosher insect, locusts are a great option for housewives who are still undecided about what appetizer to serve at the Passover Seder," said Alison.·Kaplan·Allison Kaplan Sommer wrote in Haaretz.

Creative recipes like "honey-spiced locusts" quickly popped up on the blog.·Rabbi Natan Slifkin expressed his views on eating insects from an ecological perspective in his column in The Times of Israel:

A Palestinian farmer spotted a locust in Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Tuesday, after a swarm of locusts arrived in the Israeli- and Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip from neighboring Egypt this week.

"If instead of exploiting animals, industrializing farms, and indulging in gourmet food, Jews used more environmentally friendly, animal-friendly methods to obtain their food, can you imagine the impact that would have?"

However, not everyone has joined the ranks of those who eat locusts. Yitzhak, the son of one of Israel's most influential ultra-Orthodox religious leaders,·Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef cautions that these delicious locusts may not be kosher at all.

The Old Testament is admittedly quite ambiguous about whether or not locusts can be eaten. The Jerusalem Post notes that Leviticus warns that "every creeping thing on the earth is an abomination; it must not be eaten." It also points out that the Law, also part of the Old Testament, lists four types of locusts—"red, yellow, gray-speckled, and white"—as edible.

Yemeni Jews have been eating locusts for hundreds of years, so the Jewish community there never questions the kosher nature of locusts.

So it seems the real question is whether European Jews, specifically Ashkenazi Jews, consider locusts kosher. They have no tradition of identifying whether locusts are a biblically approved species. Even Ashkenazi rabbis are divided on this issue.

Some Jews believe locusts should not be on the Passover table.

"Communities that eat locusts allow them at the Passover Seder," Joseph said on Wednesday. "But most Israelis don't do that. We can't just go by the logo, even for locusts."

It may sound nitpicky, but the tug-of-war and collision of interpretations is characteristic of the Jewish intellectual tradition.

Still, for those who agree that locusts are kosher, gourmets around the world—from the Netherlands to Mexico to the San Francisco Bay Area—offer a variety of ways to cook the protein-rich insects.

Or, even simpler, Israelis could follow the Thai example and fry locusts into a crispy side dish. According to urban legend, locusts first appeared on Thai tables during a locust plague decades ago.

Perhaps the ancient Egyptians also regretted not considering this matter in advance.