According to a recent U.N. report, insects could be a solution to some of the world's food and health problems. They're nutritious, eco-friendly and abundant. Many countries already consider them a staple part of their diets.

So if we're all to start consuming locusts and scorpions, we can start in Southeast Asia for guidance.
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Nicola Ruotolo is an intern in CNN's Rome bureau

Insects are the ideal food of the future, according to a new United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization report.

In "Edible insects: Future prospects for food and feed security," presented at a news conference in Rome on Monday, the group's etnomophagy experts shared compelling evidence suggesting that increased intake of insects would promote health, wealth and a cleaner environment for both rural and urban communities around the globe.

Consumption of insects like locusts, crickets or larvae is very common in parts of Asia, South America, Mexico and Africa, due in large part to their high nutritional value. Insects beat out both meat and fish in protein content and quality, and they're also rich in fiber and healthy micronutrients including copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, selenium and zinc.

Insects adapt so quickly to climate change, that there would be few barriers to gathering from the wild or farming at any altitude or latitude around the planet - making them a cheap and eco-friendly food source. They also have a very low risk of transmitting disease to humans, unlike farmed beef, pork and poultry.
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World-renowned chef, author and Emmy winning television personality Anthony Bourdain visits Tangier, Morocco in the next episode of "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown," airing Sunday, May 12, at 9 p.m. ET. Follow the show on Twitter and Facebook.

There are two things you can be sure of when it comes to your taste buds in Morocco.

You'll drink enough sugary mint tea to send your dentist into a spin. And, after a couple of days, you'll be sick to your back teeth of tagine (if you have any left).

What's a hapless (and hungry) traveler to do?

As most locals will tell you, the best Moroccan food is found at home, not in restaurants.

Unless you can wrangle an invite to a local's home, your best bet is to dive into the maze-like medinas and head to the food souks.

Read the full story - 10 street foods to try in Morocco - on CNN Travel.

The first time Meyer Wolfsheim met Jimmy Gatz, the young man hadn't eaten in days. Freshly released from Army duty and on the hunt for a job, the major wore his medal-decked uniform around town not to tout his valor or value - but rather because he couldn't afford civilian clothes.

For the princely sum of just over $4, Wolfsheim stuffed the starving kid full of food and locked in his loyalty for life.
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5@5 is a food-related list from chefs, writers, political pundits, musicians, actors, and all manner of opinionated people from around the globe.

This Sunday is Mother's Day, but you knew that. The card is in the mail, the bouquet is pre-ordered, the brunch reservation is in the book...

Right?

If the holiday did just happen to slip your mind, fret not: Elizabeth Blau of Honey Salt restaurant in Las Vegas has some tips on showing Mom you care the homemade way - all while keeping your sanity intact.

Five Stress-Reducing Tips for Mother's Day Brunch: Elizabeth Blau
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UPDATE: Taco Fusion briefly pulled the controversial item from its menu, but has since reversed that decision, telling Tampa's FOX 13:

@BuzzFeedNews We just got off the phone with them. They actually are still carrying them, and they just ordered 50 more pounds.—
FOX 13 Tampa Bay (@MyFoxTampaBay) May 10, 2013

The company has posted a message on its website that reads in part:

"As a country, and hell, maybe as a planet, our food processing systems are not pretty, only efficient. They are not politically correct, and certainly need work. But if you are crying out in the name of diversity, in the name of freedom, in the name of rescuing a Lion, then why don’t you cry out for Cows? Who decides which animals are worthy? If the argument is that a Lion is “Majestic” so you shouldn’t breed them for meat consumption- then what is the lesson here That only the majestic pretty girls get treated well and the ugly ones go to the slaughter pen? How pompous and idiotic does that sound?"

(WFTS) A small south Tampa restaurant is causing quite a stir over a unique item offered on their menu: lion.

For $35 dollars taco lovers can try lion, as in, the king of the jungle.

"I thought the lion was good," said patron Lee Weiner. "It didn't taste too gamey to me, similar to steak."
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The San Diego Padres are heating up.

The Major League club has put a new twist on an old baseball drill called "pepper," where fielders surround a single batter who has to hit the ball quickly back to them. (Many teams have banned this game because it can get a little dangerous.)

Now, the Padres are playing pepper in a whole new way.

The team has planted a honest-to-goodness garden of hot peppers in its bullpen at Petco Park. It turns out the sandy soil used in Major League parks is a perfect environment for sowing the seeds of success.
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5@5 is a food-related list from chefs, writers, political pundits, musicians, actors, and all manner of opinionated people from around the globe.

Editor's Note: Matt Gross is the author of the new memoir "The Turk Who Loved Apples." Follow him on Twitter @worldmattworld.

For most of the past decade, I was on the road. I was a travel writer, working primarily for the New York Times (where I was the Frugal Traveler), and also for several other publications, including Saveur and Afar magazines. As I ranged from Buenos Aires to Gdansk to Chongqing, I was so hungry for the experience of new, great food that I quickly realized I couldn't just return to my nominal home in Brooklyn, without bringing back a taste of my adventures.

Flouting U.S. Customs regulations (or, really, just not bothering to find out what they might be) I sought out these five essential ingredients that travel well, last long and offer up pungent memories of far-flung lands.

Five Essential Foods to "Smuggle" Home: Matt Gross
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