PORTLAND, ME (WGME/CNN) - One restaurant in Maine is trying to change the perception of bugs in restaurants.
An insect dinner was served Monday at Bao Bao Dumpling House in Portland.
One dish featured vegetables served with toasted crickets and chili vinaigrette.
Another featured garlicky meal worms cooked with bacon and jasmine rice.
Environmentalists have said meats like beef and pork use more natural resources than insects to grow which negatively affects the environment.
The restaurant's co-founder said he wanted to raise awareness about the worldwide need for new sources of protein.
"We're just looking to show that edible bugs are something that are the food of the future and I am here to help with that," said Zachary Pratt, co-Founder of Bao Bao.
The president of the edible insect business which supplied the inspects said they are more nutritious than other foods.
"For example, grasshoppers have three times as many Omega-3s as salmon," said Bill Broadbent, president of Entosense. "There is niacin, iron, more calcium than milk, and like they say, more iron than spinach."
The insect options at Bao Bao are not a permanent feature on the menu, just a one-time thing.
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