July 24, 2018

U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Senator,

You will soon consider H.R. 6147, the Interior, Environment, Financial Services, and General Government Appropriations Act, 2019. On behalf of the more than one million members and supporters of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW), I urge you to support Sen. Jeff Flake’s (R-Ariz.) amendment #3440 to prohibit agriculture subsidies for cricket farms and the development of bug-based foods for human consumption.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) spends more than $1.3 million to study the best methods to farm crickets for human consumption and determine what types of crickets are tastiest for consumers. NIFA grants have been approved to identify which insects are most edible and develop bug-based foods such as pasta or ramen. Not only is there little proof that bug-based foods are more nutritious than normal foods or even safe for consumers to eat, bug-based foods are also very expensive. The most affordable “cricket powder,” produced by All Things Bugs, sells for $35 per pound.

Sen. Flake’s amendment to eliminate million-dollar subsidies for bug consumption would end a gross and tasteless misuse of taxpayer funds. All votes in support of amendment #3440 will be considered for CCAGW’s 2018 Congressional Ratings.

Sincerely,

Tom Schatz
President, CCAGW

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