Fast food company Wayback Burgers has plans to bug its milk shakes – not with the listening variety but actual creepy crawly bugs.
On July 1 the company will launch an Oreo mud pie cricket protein milkshake which contains Peruvian chocolate-flavored cricket powder.
It also has plans for a jerky milkshake complete with hickory spice flavors, maple syrup and barbecue , served with Slim Jim sticks—depending on the size of the milkshake.
The bug-infused shake started off as a PR April’s Fool’s joke but the response was so positive when it went on sale on Long Island, NY, that it was decided to add the item to the menu for a limited time.
Wayback Burgers president John Eucalitto said “We had it for two hours. There were people lined up to try it — the powder itself is not strong tasting”.
Crickets have been the attention of trendy health food news over recent years with claims it is a high-protein alternative to animal protein sources. The dried insects are nutritious, cost much less than beef or chicken and are sustainably raised.
Both beef and chicken have come under fire for being raised in ways that use too much land, water and energy. The oft cited benchmark is that there would be no land left in the world if everyone on the planet ate beef and chicken in quantities similar to Americans.
Eucalitto said the biggest obstacle the company faces before the bug shakes become fully accepted in perception.
“People think maybe we’re grinding up crickets in the back room,” he said when in fact the insects are all farm raised in the USA.
Stay Connected
