Public-health experts have been encouraging people to eat more bugs for years now: A 2013 report from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization cites them as a potential solution to the looming threat of a global protein shortage, and a 2014 excerpt from insect-eating activist Daniella Martin’s book Edible argues that eating bugs is not only good for the planet, it’s the optimal form of nutrition for body builders. However, neither the U.N. nor the host of self-produced web series Girl Eats Bug were in ’N Sync, so—checkmate, bug nerds.
Justin Timberlake recently joined the ranks of celebrity bug-eating advocates like Angelina Jolie and Shailene Woodley at the listening party for his new album Man Of The Woods, a real Best Made Co. catalog type of affair trumpeting Timberlake’s rebirth as a bearded woodsy dude who’s really into $400 shearling-lined vest and $350 axe kind of stuff. Bushes and trees—presumably humanely sourced from some artisanal shrubber or another in the greater Brooklyn area—lined the venue in New York City, where guests dined on “ants coated in black garlic and rose oil” and just regular old grasshoppers while previewing tracks from the album, which reportedly eschews banjos and dulcimers and all that shit, instead sticking to Timberlake’s established R&B/pop hybrid style.
You can listen to “Filthy,” the first single off of Man Of The Woods, below. Timberlake also recently announced a massive North American tour; the edible-insect situation at those shows has yet to be determined, so you might want to BYOBugs just to be safe.