Food News Roundup: Make Money By Instagramming, Eat Crickets In An Emergency, Watch Cats Shop For Groceries
Forget eggs, bread and milk — crickets are the only thing you need when prepping for a catastrophe. Speaking of grocery shopping, remember to pick up some gelatin for your coffee and bring your cat along for the ride. It's got a few things to pick up as well, according to a German commercial that, of course, has gone viral. All that and more in today's news roundup.
Crickets: Part of the dystopian diet
During a disaster, should food become scarce, what will we turn to for nutrition and protein? An urban design and architecture group, Terreform Open Network Ecology, thinks it's going to be crickets, CNN reports. The group has designed a special type of shelter that will house and protect you while it farms crickets for your enjoyment. The idea doesn't sound so far-fetched at a time when cricket-flour pizza and cricket bitters are easing their way to the mass market and onto your plates. The prototype is currently on display in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
What's this gelatin doing in my coffee?
In today's edition of coffee news, fitness bloggers are adding gelatin to their morning cup in the name of health (because butter in your coffee isn't enough). Women's Health reports that gelatin contains eight of nine essential amino acids. It's also a great source for collagen, which builds stronger bones, nails and hair, and offers similar benefits to bone broth. These bloggers aren't just dropping shots of Jell-O into their coffee, though; they're adding "pasture-raised collagen," butter, coconut oil and honey into their brew.
Finally, your food Instagram could have monetary value
Are you a legal resident of an East or Southeast Asian country and always asking to borrow your friend's phone when you photograph food to achieve the perfect lighting that off-camera flash offers? Great! Netflix's Chef's Table wants to hire you and pay you with real cash money to be its official Instagrammer, according to Thrillist. Candidates can apply by following @NetflixAsia and tagging their work with #mychefstable by June 27. Compensation has yet to be decided.
Your new favorite supermarket commercial
In a spectacular mashup of Internet cat memes (how many can you count?), German supermarket chain Netto successfully ingrained yet another catchy jingle in your brain and marketed itself as full of relatable, Internet-savvy peeps who also love furry felines. The commercial's director, Brian Lee Hughes, whose résumé includes dogs driving Subarus and pigs street-luging for Geico, battled cat allergies, donned a cat costume and built a cat-sized supermarket to make the spot. His secret to getting the cats to perform: treats.
"Cats are particularly independent," Hughes tells Fast Co.Create. "We had a couple cats for each moment so that we could gauge which one was more up for performing and to ensure that they would get tons of rest in between. They actually built a motel for the cats. The fat cat was the king of the film for me. He was all about his snacks and performed perfectly on the first take. Love that dude."