If Tarantulas Taste Like Crab, Why Can't We Eat Them?

If tarantulas taste like crab, why does one make your stomach turn and the other make you reach for the butter? Millions of people eat fried tarantulas in Cambodia, and millions of others crack open crab legs without a second thought. This video follows that reflex through three answers: the history, the biology, and your own mind. In this video: How fried tarantulas became a street food in Skuon, Cambodia, and why many accounts trace the habit to the famine years of the 1970s Paul Rozin’s research on disgust, and why much of what we find revolting is learned The 1980s juice and cockroach experiment, and why disgust reacts to contact and resemblance, not proof Why young children show far less disgust than adults, and how culture writes the rules How the Piaroa of Venezuela have been reported to eat the goliath birdeater, and why they singe off its hairs first How sushi went from revolting to grocery-store food in America Why crabs, shrimp, lobsters, and spiders all belong to one family, the arthropods The protein tropomyosin, and why some people with a shrimp allergy may also react to dust mites and cockroaches How lobster went from cheap, low-status food to a luxury The omnivore’s paradox: why we are pulled toward new foods and away from them at the same time The 2013 United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization report on insects as food The practical reasons tarantulas are a poor crop, and why the deeper answer is the one you felt in your stomach What is one food you could never eat that someone you love cannot get enough of? Tell us in the comments, and subscribe for more curious science about the human mind and body. KEY RESEARCHERS AND IDEAS Paul Rozin: the psychologist whose decades of research on disgust, including the omnivore’s paradox, frame this video. Behavioral immune system: the idea that disgust works as an early warning system that keeps sick things out of your mouth before an infection starts. Omnivore’s paradox: animals that can eat almost anything must balance curiosity about new foods against the risk of poison. Food neophobia: the fear of new foods. Arthropods: the animal group that includes crabs, shrimp, lobsters, spiders, and insects. Tropomyosin: a muscle protein shared by shellfish, dust mites, and cockroaches, and a known part of shellfish allergy. DISCLAIMER: This video is for education and entertainment only. It is not a cooking guide, a foraging guide, or medical advice. Tarantulas and other wild animals can carry irritating hairs and need careful preparation by people who know how, and some species may be protected where you live. Never eat wild animals you cannot source and identify safely. Anyone with allergies should talk to a doctor first. For food safety questions, ask a doctor or your local health department. #tarantula #disgust #foodpsychology #foodscience #whywedowhatwedo #psychology #humanbehavior #entomophagy #paulrozin #curiosity