Chasing Crickets

For centuries urban migration fueled the economic, cultural and social life of the cities. In the past decade, a new trend has emerged: population decline in some of the largest North American metros. 

Joe Shouldice, a creative professional and the protagonist of my documentary project Chasing Crickets, is representative of a broader phenomenon of reversed urban migration. In 2018, the rising cost of living, longer work hours, and transportation challenges, among other issues, pushed Joe and his family to leave New York City for Owen Sound, a small Ontario town. 

Faced with a lifestyle and career change in his mid-life, Joe aims to re-invent himself as an entrepreneur and human-grade cricket farmer while confronting heavy socio-cultural preconceptions of the Western world towards the consumption of insects. 

In this supporting paper, I explore and document Joe’s story and the bourgeoning industry of cricket farming in Ontario, Canada.