MembersSampling the Menu of John the Baptist

Here at Israel Today we recently received samples from a line of energy bars and food supplements made of grasshoppers (or locusts) and were intrigued that the packaging prominently featured New Testament wording and motifs.

So on a crisp spring morning this reporter set off to get an exclusive interview with the makers of this fascinating FoodTech product, Hargol (which means “grasshopper” in Hebrew). Their main growing and harvesting facility is just outside Katzrin in the Golan Heights. The Golan is gorgeous this time of year with sprawling panoramic views of the Sea of Galilee, Lebanon across the Hula Valley and the last snow hanging on valiantly to the upper slopes of Mt Hermon.

These grasshoppers are the only insect that God told Moses the people could eat. They are also “kosher” (halal) for Muslims. The Hargol team likewise noticed that the New Testament features grasshoppers as food, particularly in the passages about John the Baptist eating locusts and wild honey. In light of this connection, the company established a...