The Brief

When Cortni Borgerson thinks about the trillion or so periodical cicadas emerging from underground, she sees more than clumsily flying insects flitting from tree to tree in search of a mate. She sees lunch.

Some may find that idea revolting, a belief often, if unknowingly, steeped in colonialism and the notion that eating insects is “uncivilized.” But Borgerson, an anthropologist at Montclair State University, is among those eager to change that perception. She’s a big fan of dining on bugs of all kinds, but finds cicadas particularly appetizing. “It’s one of the best American insects,” she said.

Their texture, she said, is something like peeled shrimp, and their taste akin to what you’d experience “if a chicken nugget and a sunflower seed had a baby.” She recommends first-timers cook them like any other meat and try them in tacos.

Borgerson’s not alone in her fascination with edible insects. In the lead-up to this spring’s dual-brood emergence, a flurry of cicada recipes, sweet treats, and culinary odes have sung the bulky bugs’ praises. The interest is part of a growing social movement in favor of alternative proteins among consumers increasingly demanding a more sustainable food system.

“They’re this magical-looking insect that crawls up, that people are excited and interested in,” she said. “People are more excited about eating it than they might be about other types of insects.”

The buzz around this cicada emergence provides an opportunity to break down misguided stereotypes and misconceptions about eating insects, Borgerson said. If you ask her, the creatures are more than tasty. They’re a sustainable alternative to carbon-intensive proteins like beef and an effective way of addressing rising rates of food insecurity.

“Some insects have an incredible opportunity, and a potential, to reduce our carbon footprint in a delicious, but sustainable, way,” she said.

Roughly 30% of the world’s population considers insects a delicacy or dietary staple, a practice that goes back millennia. A study published earlier this year found that over 3,000 ethnic groups across 128 countries eat 2,205 species of Insecta, with everything from caterpillars to locusts appearing in dishes of every description. These invertebrates are a rich source of protein, fat, and vitamins. The creatures are most commonly eaten by consumers in Asia, North America — predominantly Mexico, where people enjoy 450 varieties — and Africa.

The idea remains a novelty in the United States, where just six species are regularly consumed (crickets being the most popular). Consumer attitudes, based on old stigmas, remain a hurdle to broader acceptance.

Julie Lesnik, an anthropologist at Wayne State University who studies the Western bias toward eating things like beetles, called the “ick” response many Americans have toward the idea a cultural byproduct of colonization.

“Disgust is felt very viscerally and biologically,” she said. “So to tell somebody their aversion to insects is cultural and not physiologically programmed is a difficult thing to wrap your head around, because you can feel your stomach turn, you can feel the gag reflex come up if you are disgusted by the idea of eating insects. But disgust is one of the few learned emotions. So we are disgusted by the things our culture tells us to be disgusted by.”

Grilling cicada skewers catch fire on the grill.

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Chip Somodevilla

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Such a reaction also can be a sign of internalized prejudice, she said. Indigenous peoples throughout North America once consumed a variety of insects, a practice European colonists deemed “uncivilized” — a way to “other” non-white communities and cultural practices. “Is it racist? Yes, simply put,” Lesnik said.

The racialized foundation of that ideology has garnered scrutiny in the wake of viral right wing claims that a shadowy global elite will make people eat insects. Politicized conspiracy theories — like the suggestion that Bill Gates will take away meat and force everyone to eat insects — are insidious misinformation that Joseph Yoon fights daily.

“The very notion of edible insects, I believe, has people think about the lowest denominator,” said Yoon, the founder of Brooklyn Bugs and a chef advocate for the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development. “It’s for the apocalypse. It’s for poor people. It’s for marginalized communities in developing nations. And so the very notion of this creates a sense of fear, anger, resentment. Instead of putting insects in a silo because you don’t understand … we can work together to provide solutions for our global food systems.”

Eleven years ago, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization called bugs a promising alternative to conventional meat production. In the decade since, a surge of North American startups have launched to make insects into a primary food source for humans, an ingredient (flour is common), or a feedstock for cattle and pets. The market for such things in the United States is expected to hit $1.1 billion by 2033; globally, the figure is more than three times that.

Leslie Aguila of Clarksville, Maryland, eats air fried cicadas for the first time. "Wasn't bad!" she said.

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Chip Somodevilla

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Still, for an industry in its infancy, the viability of scaling insect protein into a legitimate climate solution remains a burning question, one Rachel Mazac has studied intently. Mazac, a sustainability researcher at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, is among the scientists who have attempted to quantify the carbon footprint of producing things like crickets, mealworms, and black soldier flies on an industrial scale. So far, she’s found that insects make “extremely efficient” use of land and water compared to conventional livestock. Although she acknowledges the dearth of data on the subject, Mazac thinks insects warrant further consideration as a feasible alternative to more common — and carbon-intensive — meats.

Not everyone sees insects as a climate solution, however. Matthew Hayek, an environmental researcher and assistant professor at New York University, co-authored a 2024 survey of more than 200 climate and agricultural scientists that showed widespread support for greater efforts by governments and the private sector to incentivize alternatives to meat and dairy. But he doesn’t believe insects belong on the slate of urgent solutions. Among other things, he questions the environmental impact of feeding them to livestock, and whether the creatures can be raised and harvested humanely.

“It’s a worthwhile area of investigation for fundamental science and research and development,” he said. “It is not worthwhile as an actual climate solution at a market level for somebody to invest in a climate solution.”

Jeffery Tomberlin, an entomologist at Texas A&M University and director of the Center for Environmental Sustainability through Insect Farming, doesn’t buy that. He believes every possible alternative protein needs to be on the table because meeting the climate crisis requires reforming the global food system. “We should be looking at all options when we talk about how to be better stewards of our planet,” he said. “We need to diversify as much as possible.”

Doing that, however, will require consumers and policymakers to put aside old ideas and consider new possibilities. That, Tomberlin said, would prompt the kind of research and funding needed to “safely and efficiently” develop the processing and production practices needed to make insect protein a viable, scalable alternative to other meats. Only then will the idea of eating insects be more than a flurry of trendy headlines, and cicada tacos more than a fleeting novelty.

Long-term eviction defense funding for Los Angeles renters could soon begin to flow now that city officials have announced a break in an impasse dating back to May 2025.

L.A. City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto said Thursday she intends to sign a new $107 million contract with the Legal Aid Foundation of L.A. She said the contract — which was approved by the City Council and the mayor in April, but still awaits her approval — was “nearly finalized.”

“I am fully committed to supporting these crucial eviction defense services for our vulnerable neighbors in need,” Feldstein Soto said in a statement.

Feldstein Soto — who will not secure a second term after placing third in last month’s primary election — pledged to continue investigating the legal aid group. She has frequently criticized the nonprofit for what she sees as a lack of transparency, though L.A. Housing Department officials say the group has consistently provided accounting and caseload data to the city.

“Taxpayers deserve transparency and accountability and to know that their money is being used as intended,” Feldstein Soto said.

Barbara Schultz, a Legal Aid Foundation attorney overseeing the city-funded Stay Housed L.A. program, said both parties have been negotiating final contract details for more than a week. She said the city attorney’s announcement was encouraging.

“[Feldstein Soto] said she was going to approve the contract, so I'm very excited to hear that,” Schultz said. “Moving forward… we can continue to grow, fully implement the ‘Right to Counsel,’ and tenants in Los Angeles will be much better off as a result.”

In response to Feldstein Soto’s claims that more than $58 million in eviction defense grants remain “unaccounted for” in the foundation’s financial audits and IRS forms, Schultz said taxpayer dollars have not been misspent and that no findings have been made to that effect.

“[The Legal Aid Foundation] is a very large nonprofit law firm that has over 40 federal, state and local government contracts,” Schultz said. “We are very used to being audited. Any audit the city wants to do to satisfy itself is absolutely fine with us.”

Feldstein Soto denied a five-year contract to the legal aid group last year, arguing it should have gone through a competitive bidding process. After the city solicited applications and selected the group for new long-term funding, she later told city councilmembers in a confidential memo that they should consider withholding support for “a frequent litigant against the city.”

While she announced the contract should be ready for her signature by July 7, Feldstein Soto said her office would move forward with plans to assign forensic accountants to study how the legal aid group has spent more than $90 million in city funds since 2021.

At the Bristol Swap Mall in Santa Ana, people are flocking to buy their Mexico soccer team jerseys and paraphernalia.

“The color is green and that says Mexico right here,” said Catherine Hernandez, who’s entering third grade, as she pointed to the replica Mexico soccer jersey her mother had bought her at a nearby stall.

She asked her mother to get her one the day after Mexico’s win against Ecuador and is already thinking about how she’ll feel wearing it Sunday during Mexico’s knockout game against England in the Round of 16.

“Excited, very excited because I’m Mexican and I love this shirt,” she said.

Hernandez was born in the U.S. and her mother was born in Mexico. Both say their Mexico jerseys symbolize those similar but different prides in their Mexican backgrounds.

They're among fans rooting for Mexico’s men’s national soccer team to advance further than ever before into the World Cup tournament. A win against England would move the team to the Round of 8, the quarterfinals, for the third time. Along the way, this Mexico team has captured the imagination of many in the U.S. who have, or are close to, those of Mexican heritage.

Proudly wearing the green jersey

The market vendor at the stall said only one adult-size 2026 jersey remained. So many had been sold they'd had to place an order for more.

A replica of Mexico's 2026 FIFA World Cup soccer jersey.

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Adolfo Guzman-Lopez

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LAist

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Many Mexico fans have been wearing their jerseys on the days leading up to the team's World Cup matches.

“On Monday, I looked around to see a sea of green, white and red, and it nearly brought me to tears in line at Costco,” said Alex Alcantar, who lives in Norwalk.

He was born and raised in the U.S. and he says his Mexico soccer jersey symbolizes that experience.

“Why I wear my Mexico jersey is because I want to visibly represent this community when our contributions to society are so heavily discounted,” he said.

The team’s growing prominence has also coaxed some others in Mexican communities in the U.S. to feel more confident in their identity.

“I've never used [a Mexico jersey] before,” said Xochi Flores, who was born in Oxnard and whose great-grandparents were Mexican.

“I didn't feel like I could go around representing Mexico when I'm a Chicana, third generation, not the best Spanish speaker,” she said.

Xochi Flores (left), with her husband Cesar Castro, has become more comfortable wearing the soccer jersey recently.

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In the past year, she said she’s felt closer to her Mexican roots as she’s seen reports of farmworkers and other people of Mexican descent arrested by ICE agents.

So to her, wearing her Mexico soccer jersey means leaving behind insecurities she used to have about not being “Mexican enough,” as well as “not being American enough.”

“I want my kids to see me embracing all of the parts of me. … They don't have those insecurities, and that makes me happy,” Flores said.

Wearing the jersey when you're Mexican-ish

The stalls are attracting all types of customers. “I'm just looking for a Mexican soccer jersey,” said Son Lam, who lives in nearby Orange and identifies as Vietnamese.

Lam says he’s become devoted to soccer since the World Cup started June 11. Buying and wearing a Mexican soccer team jersey means showing off his newfound sports fandom already embraced by his extended family

“My wife is Mexican and to me, [wearing the Mexico jersey] means I can fit in with the family more," he said as he laughed.

However they identify, all these shoppers will likely be wearing their jerseys as they watch Mexico compete against England on Sunday, July 5. Joining millions of fans rooting for their team to advance to the next round, and keeping dreams of a 2026 FIFA World Cup championship alive.

Santa Ana voters could be asked in November to maintain the city’s 1.5% sales tax, which was set to decrease in 2029 and eventually expire.

Voters approved the citywide sales tax in 2018 on the condition that it sunset in 20 years. Now, the Santa Ana City Council will vote Tuesday on whether to ask voters in November to make the tax permanent.

The big picture

Only about one-third of cities in Orange County have a local sales tax on top of the county-imposed sales tax of 7.75%. Sales taxes in most of Los Angeles County are much higher — L.A.’s countywide sales tax is 9.75% and the highest total sales taxes for cities in L.A. County are in Lancaster and Palmdale, at 11.25% each, according to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration.

Other potential tax hikes in OC

Voters in Orange will be considering a sales tax hike on their November ballot, after failing to get voters’ approval in 2024. San Clemente voters will also consider a local sales tax in November to pay for more sand to shore up local beaches.