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. 2020 Feb 11;9(2):172.
doi: 10.3390/foods9020172.

Could Western Attitudes towards Edible Insects Possibly be Influenced by Idioms Containing Unfavourable References to Insects, Spiders and other Invertebrates?

Victor Benno Meyer-Rochow  1   2 , Aimo Kejonen  3
Affiliations

Could Western Attitudes towards Edible Insects Possibly be Influenced by Idioms Containing Unfavourable References to Insects, Spiders and other Invertebrates?

Victor Benno Meyer-Rochow et al. Foods. .

Abstract

It is known that idioms, proverbs, and slogans can become integrated into feelings like irritation, contemptuous attitudes, and even anger and disgust. Idioms making reference to insects, spiders, and other invertebrates occur in all languages, but they convey mostly negative content in people of Western cultural orientation. By analyzing a subgroup of insect and spider idioms related to food, eating, and digestion, the authors suggest that mirror neurons are activated in people that are exposed to the largely unfavorable content of such idioms. This could then lead the listener of such idioms to adopt the kind of negative attitude towards insects that is expressed in the idioms and to project it towards edible species.

Keywords: disgust; emotions; entomophagy; food choice; mirror neurons; sociolinguistics.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests.

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