On October 20, visitors to Liberty Science Center will have the opportunity to eat a tarantula.

What, you think we’re joking? We’re completely serious. At our next LSC After Dark party, “Zombtoberfest,” we are going to serve pre-packaged tarantulas, crickets and other bugs to any guest 21 and over who has the stomach to try them. They will not be alive.

An LSC employee even volunteered to eat a tarantula in preparation for the big night. See for yourself:

(Please note: There will also be a regular food and drink menu, without any bugs).

The act of eating insects and spiders, referred to as “entomophagy,” is still very much a strange and revolting concept in the United States. But more than two billion people across the world eat bugs on a regular basis, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). In 2013, the UN even encouraged people to eat insects as a means of ending world hunger.

And it’s true, insects are high in nutritional value. For every 100 grams of dried caterpillars, there are about 53 grams of protein, 15 percent of fat and 17 percent of carbohydrates, according to the FAO. Two tablespoons of cricket powder (which comes from domestically-raised crickets, dried or roasted into a powder) contain 7 grams of protein. For comparison, one egg only has 6 grams of protein.

The benefits don’t stop there. Insects are likely to produce “fewer environmentally harmful greenhouses gases” than other livestock, according to the UN. They also have a lower feed conversion ratio than cattle. Meaning, domestically-raised insects produce more food, while also consuming less food, than cows do.

You may have also heard that fried tarantula is a delicacy in Cambodia. Gordon Ramsay had it, and was not a fan:

But other than the “gross” factor, there are other things to consider before embracing entomophagy. Bugs do a lot of good for humanity, and we don’t know what will happen if we all start seeing them as lunch.

As with all foods – not just the kinds with six or eight legs – it’s important to think before you eat.