I grew up in Zimbabwe, Southern Africa. I speak in general that eating insects is a delicacy and is favoured as a snack most of the time.An example, the [1] mopani worm is an excellent source of protein and is increadibly cheap in Southern Africa.The guts are removed, cleaned and dried in the sun before being packaged for sale. They also taste delicious once fried in butter and mixed with vegetables.
It might be a novelty right now in the western world but its been years of tradition in African or Asian countries.
It will be a interesting perspective as it becomes more common to eat insects in Western countries. The main barrier to break down would be the 'ick/ew' factor, which has been mentioned in this threads comments, that is usually cultural.
But judging from the way some domestic animals are treated by some farms, the ick/ew factor of eating insects becomes less of a barrier.
It might be a novelty right now in the western world but its been years of tradition in African or Asian countries.
[1] - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonimbrasia_belina