by David Draper

I’m all about the hunting and gathering lifestyle, but there’s just one thing I’m not sure I could (literally) stomach: eating insects. Apparently, our Dutch friends don’t have the same qualms about bugs that I do—at least if you consider the recent story out of Amsterdam about the new Insect Cookbook.

Need more protein in your diet? Try adding worms to your chocolate muffin recipe mix, or spice up a mushroom risotto with a sprinkling of grasshoppers.

by David Draper

Pan Fried Catfish and Potatoes vs. Maple Syrup Lake Trout

I was hoping for an all fish Food Fight this week, but no one informed the guest of honor. I’ve been out fishing three times in the last week with nothing to show for my efforts—despite emptying several tanks of gas in the process, not to mention using up plenty of cutbait. Because the fish weren’t cooperating, I had to dig deep into my archives for a fish pic. Luckily, Wild Chef reader Will Fulmer (a.k.a. nuclear_fisher) helped me out with a suitable opponent for my tasty, albeit tired, fried catfish photo.

by David Draper

For this week’s Food Fight Friday we have two wonderful photos that would be just at home in an art museum as they are here at Field & Stream. In subject matter they are similar—but they couldn’t be more divergent in style. Who wins will all come down to a matter of taste, and I’m not talking about flavor. Instead, it’s the clean and simple lines of F&S Copy Chief Donna Ng’s baked brown trout versus the intricate detailing done by chef Charlie Krause in his poached salmon display. Which one will get your vote?

by David Draper

Aquaculture, the process of farming fish for human consumption, continues to be a hot topic, especially when it comes to salmon. Opponents of the salmon farms point to genetic modification and increased competition when farmed salmon escape and interact with wild salmon.

Proponents say salmon farming takes pressure off threatened stocks of wild salmon and helps make the healthy and delicious fish affordable. My take is: If you have to feed farmed salmon a supplement just to make their flesh pink, there’s something wrong with the whole process. (You can find out more about why you should eat wild salmon at Trout Unlimited’s Why Wild Website.)

In South America, there’s an effort underway to save threatened populations of Paiche, a large freshwater fish native to the Amazon, by reintroducing farmed fish to the river.