Brooklyn Farm To Sell Cricket Snack Bites

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Jiminy Cricket might not be a fan of this.

CBS2's Ali Bauman reported crickets from a farm in Brooklyn could soon be in New Yorkers' kitchens.

Thousands of crickets have been harvested in Terraform One bio units at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Co-founder Mitch Joachim said eating crickets isn't just good for our health, but also good for our planet.

"It's around 200 percent less water to make the same gram of protein from a cricket than it would be from something like cow," Joachim said.

The bug farm was developed to study cheap protein alternatives for developing countries, but once Joachim saw how little space and water crickets require, he decided to bring them to the "Concrete Jungle."

"Wouldn't this make sense to have in Brooklyn and use it as a really high-tech super sanitary farm, which it is, for the production of free range crickets for consumption of in restaurants here locally in Brooklyn?" he said.

Crickets would be made into snack bites so people can consume them.

"Crickets are described often as having a nutty or earthy flavor and they happen to pair well with spices, such as pepper and ginger and cinnamon," chef Robyn Shapiro said.

High in iron, calcium and omega 3, the crickets are ground into powder, mixed with nuts, spices and dried fruits, and packaged into snack bites. Joachim is bringing in more bio units and working with local chefs to expand the farm into a business.

"You can get the equivalent of a steak as far as protein with insect powder," Joachim said.

The cricket snack bites will be sold for about $8 per jar. They are only being test-marketed right now.