As the pandemic subsides, Lithuanian conspiracy theorists have found a new topic to use in fantastic theories and moved to a new field – insects in food, Lithuanian public media LRT reports.
On Facebook, a group was created a few weeks ago, and its members publish pictures of products they have stopped using because the ingredients raised suspicion. That includes biscuits, cheese, and meat products. Users seek the remains of insects or heavy metal particles in food and blame vegans for wanting to take away traditional, healthy food.
Other groups urge to share information about «harmless» food, that doesn’t contain suspicious ingredients.
The food research frenzy began after the European Union approved the use of cricket flour in food, with the clause that it is clearly stated in the product description.
Concerns have been dispelled by the Lithuanian Food and Veterinary Service, which stressed that replacing regular flour with cricket powder would be economically unprofitable and would also require a clear inscription on the package. However, this does not stop conspiracy theorists and it has even gone so far as to require manufacturers to clearly state on the packaging that the products do not contain insects.
Alfredas Buiko, a scholar studying conspiracy theories, said fears about food safety and health impacts don’t go as deep as the better-known theories about vaccines and 5G radiation. However, «insects in food» also uses similar narratives of evil, and controlling individuals and creates a vision of a world where everyone will suffer such great deprivation that they will have to eat insects.
The «insects» theory itself causes a reaction in new groups of society, such as vegans and healthy food enthusiasts.
«Healthy living communities are one of the places where conspiracy theories spread very well. Similarly, the radical right, and that’s because both value purity in all senses of the word.
In the conspiracy theory communities, there is often talk of a struggle between staying clean and being tainted,» Buiko.
Communication specialist Giedrius Galdikas points out that the peak of the spread of the «insects in food» theory is already passed, but there is a risk that the theory itself will remain. He said: «It is obvious that businesses are being harmed. This is a potential crisis, if businesses remain silent and do nothing, it could worsen. If they see that businesses are unable, unwilling to defend themselves, [the conspiracy theorists] will attack even harder.» Galdikas added that it is not really clear where the panic came from, but it is clear that the spreaders of conspiracy theories are simply looking for easy targets. He recommends that companies suffering from the spread of false claims take their authors to court to seek legal remedies for defamation.
Currently, Buiko is hesitant to predict exactly how long this theory will be viable: «The anti-vaccine movement was also supposed to be short-lived, but it keeps rising and subsiding. But I’m convinced that the movement for healthy eating, and orthorexia, isn’t going away. It might get weaker, but for one reason or another, it might come back later and be much stronger.»
Read the whole article in English here: https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/1878060/insects-in-food-give-rise-to-lithuania-s-latest-wave-of-conspiracy-theories