Insects as Food or Friends? American News on Edible Insects as a Mirror

Abstract

News reports on edible insects to a large extent influence the non-entomophagous group and convey certain ecological ideologies. This study focuses on the ecological ideologies embedded in American media concerning edible insects and their impacts on human-insect sustainable relationship. An ecocritical discourse analysis means based on transitivity system of clauses is adopted to analyze 34 articles from New York Daily News, USA Today, Washington Post and CNN. The analysis of transitivity reveals that American news on edible insects are inundated with ecologically ambivalent processes and destructive processes. Even though “entomophagy” is considered a sustainable behavior, American news tend to shape insects as resources with nutritional and economic values, and regard eating insects as a means to alleviate food shortages, while ignoring the vitality of insects as natural beings or human’s friends.