hi, everyone welcome to "on the money." i'm becky quick. are you hungry forget about meatless burgers. how about yummy crickets or grasshoppers the new movement to feed the world with insects. and michael lewis saying the new government heroes may be bureaucrats and agencies you've never heard of may change your life. time to start thinking about year-end money moves how to cut your tax bill before the ball drops. and how reliable is your car? "consumer reports" has answers and so do we "on the money" starts right now. >> announcer: this is "on the money. your money, your life, your future now, becky quick.

we begin with your next meal companies like beyond meat and impossible foods are introducing americans to new protein options maybe not considered before. how about bugs many parts of the world already embrace insects as a food source and it could soon be part of your daily diet, too our jane wells gave it a try in our cover story. >> reporter: you are looking at a gateway bug, an insect with so much potential to feed the planet uses minimal resources it seems a no-brainer as a protein source, but would you eat it >> this one is our peanut but around blueberry. >> reporter: much of the world eats insects from cricket to male worms, grasshoppers americans generally say, ooh well, don't judge. no that's really good. >> reporter: a growing group of entrepreneurs may prove bugs are the future. >> the same amount of protein from insects as from regular animals and uses so much less

water and it's good protein. plus, their fiber you're eating the whole thing. this chef's mission is to make insects delicious and with dishes like cricket quinoa hash. >> even if 10% of americans were to incorporate edible insects once a week, even that would have a tremendous impact on our environment. >> reporter: it is nutty ann carlson found an easier path creating dog food with sales in the millions growing 70% a year. the sustainability message appeals to millennials who may not eat the bugs themselves but have no problem giving to do their dogs. >> one of the key reasons i got into this, my daughter is a millennial and said she might not want to have children because she's worried about what the world is going to be like. >> reporter: demand is out-stripping supply the largest cricket farm is near

toronto, but monica martinez is raising her own bugs for her snack food business. it's in oakland. >> 80% of the biomass on the planet is made out of insects. doesn't make any sense we're not tapping into that. >> reporter: estimating the insect protein market could grow ten times to $8 billion by 2030. nestle's is interested, tyson is watching and it's possible that some day you will actually ask for a bug in your food >> i don't know how you're not like, damn, i want some of that dish. >> becky, still grossed out? remember when people were grossed out about eating sushi raw fish everybody does it now. proponents of insect protein hope gen z and millennials will eventually think, of course we eat insects. what's the big deal about that sigh mean, you put chocolate on anything and it's good am i right >> jane, you ate a lot of bugs guess i'll give it a try.

hmm. not bad. mixed with chocolate, but not bad. all right, jane, thank you very much. eating bugs is popular in other parts of the world so why is it taking the u.s. so long to catch up joining us now from austin, texas, robert nathan allen of the north american coalition for insect agriculture and robert, thanks for being here. >> great to be here. >> this is not bad better than i anticipated. when did you start -- >> we get that reaction a lot. >> when did you start eating bugs >> in 2012, and at that time there weren't these types of products on the market the only insect products in 2012 were novelty items like xorpian lollipops and chocolate cover ed ants interesting to see how the market has grown to provide options for consumers to add this into their diet easily. >> what are some of the health benefits of eating bugs? >> generally speaking, insects will be a great source of protein. a great source of essential amino acids as well as great

lipids or fats especially poly and monounsaturated fats, the omega 3s and 6s people are looking for. vitamins, minerals iron, cass see yum! magnesium and copper. research on fiber prebiotics. >> and what other bugs are edible and the types most popular? >> so there's, to date about 2,500 species found to the edible that's really only a small number of the insects researched out of the insects we know but predominantly crickets and male worms, larva of a dark winged beetle. grasshoppers other countries, silkworms other beetle larva, ants, wasps. a variety of different species here in the u.s. or north america, crickets, male worths, the two mimary ones used for food. >> so popular in other parts of

the world, why do you think americans are still so squeakish about this even though this isn't that bad i have a hard time imagine myself going to a vending machine asking for a side of crickets >> yes not just americans really any cold food culture that has its roots in european food culture has the same squeamishness, in the u.s., canada, australia. it's because we have forgotten about this as a food whereas other cultures, southern mexico, parts of africa, the middle east, southeast asia, they've continued that tradition. there's some roots in colonialism and misconceptions about the food of other people, when european food culture was spreading. but really europeans thought tomatoes and potatoes were poisonous when first introduced. >> your favorite bug beat and how do you cook it up? >> personally male worms a buttery flavor crickets are nuttier a darker flavor profile kind of like dark cocoa or coffee and

roasted almonds, male worms, like a breakfast cereal. >> comfort food? how do you cook them >> just coat with sugar ends up tafsting like breakfast carole sprinkle it on salads, soups, baked potatoes. >> eat them dried? not live right? >> no. and we definitely don't recommend you eat insects live or you eat insects that you find we recommend that you eat insects farmed specifically for food. >> meaning they haven't eaten poisons or perked up bad diseases or anything along the way? >> right raised in hygienic environments safe and wholesome and you know where they came from and what they it ate. >> fda is right to make sure insects are a small part or minimal part of the food buying online if it hasn't been intentionally put there? >> right you don't wan insects that aren't meant to be in your food. that's very different than the insects specifically farmed for food and the fda provides clear

guidance for the industry showing how the products can be made safe and wholesome for consumers and it's simple and makes a lot of sense you have to farm them for food you have to follow all the rules that any other food product has to follow and have san allergy warning for shellfish until belt e better research is done. so there's no inadvertent reactions. >> robert, thank you good to know and good to see you. >> you, too. up next, we're "on the money. what are the biggest threats macing america today we'll talk to author michael lewis about his new book. and why ignoring the government is one of them. and later, should you itemize or take the standard deduction? tax moves to save you money before end of the year. right now, though, look at how the stock market ended the week.

♪ government is sometimes seen as the problem not the solution. but it does play a vital role in keeping its citizens protected from making sure our food is safe to forecasting the waethear joining us, "new york times" best-selling author behind the book "the big short," "the blind side" his latest called "the fifth risk." thank you for joining us. >> thanks for having me. >> what is the "fifth risk"? >> aside from the title of my book it's where it comes from. i started this kind of wandering around the government, looking for the kind of risks that the trump administration might be ignoring and was in the energy department talking to the guy who manages the risk in the

energy department and asked what are the top five risks you worry about? he said electric grid going down, nuclear weapon going off when it shouldn't. iran and north korea getting nuclear weapons. i said, what's the fifth he got stuck and said there's so many we're not really focused on, stuck on those four. the fifth risk is the one you're not thinking of. the one that is always the one that comes and bites you sort of like the risk you're paying attention, they're the risks that you're probably pake paying too musk attention to the government is full of risks you're not paying attention to. >> what are the other most interesting arenas you found of other places where the government is paying attention to risks or maybe we wish they were >> you know, what i did is, i took departments that, where i thought people probably didn't know what they did, or couldn't

imagine they were that important. i went inside those. the bulk of the book is inside agriculture, commerce and energy take, i don't know take the commerce department, which i think most people if you asked what they did would say business, but that's not all it does what it really is, the chief data collection agency of the united states. it's got the census and it's got the weather service inside of it the weather service is, i mean it is daily saving american lives. it is the source of all the data that provides private weather services with information they need to predict anything the risk to that is that that data doesn't get collected or distributed in the right way that data collection is constantly under threat. the census right now is at risk of not being completed properly. if you don't have that, you don't have actually a picture of the society. so you know, people think the federal government is like a giant amorphous, boring, lazy

enterprise in fact, i think they ought to reframe it as a sort of portfolio of risks being managed. many of those are existential. >> is there a way that maybe the federal government could get a little tighter about how it's collecting sticks? i think about the economic numbers way out of date and the way they're collected and the way we look at things. haven't kept up with the economy. a way to juice it a little, maybe, and keep it up with some advances we've made in commerce but also making sure that you are still providing all of this as a service to your entire, all the people that you cover? >> so it is absolutely true that the federal government has basically been neglected by the american people. for decades. and it is, there are horrible management issues within inside of it. inside of it a piece of information that tells you where we are in the government.

there are five more times people in information technology working in the government over e! the age of 60 than under the age of 30. you have an aging kind of decrepit machine we're not paying enough attention to it's not the government's fault. government is us it's our fault you know it's not like there's a thing called the government that sort of magically produces stuff. >> what we determine is important and ask them to do is there one risk that scaring you the most after all the reporting you've done? >> you know, i asked that question of people who deal with the kind of, the risks that kill lots of people, and what i came away -- i came away from those conversations terrified about the risk of pandemic the risk of the spread of some airborne disease, because that is entirely something that the government has to manage there's no private sector solution to some version of the

ebola crisis and people -- the people who sort of analyze risk inside the government have been surprised that we have not had that problem yet. >> michael, thank you veg. gives me a lot to think about. can't say it cheers me up but something we should all think about. the book "the fifth risk" we appreciate your time today. up next, "on the money." the year is winding down but there's still time to make smart money moves now to cut your tax bill in the new year. and later, the most and least reliable new ars least reliable new ars odors. with a 100% natural propellent. it leaves behind a pleasant scent you'll love. [deep inhale] freshen up. don't cover up. febreze.

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with only four weeks to go until 2019 comes to a close it's a good time to start making moves that will save you money when you file your taxes next april. senior personal finance correspondent sharon epperson joins us with year-end tax tips. good to see you. >> good to be mere frhere from washington. >> what's changed in 2019? >> three things to keep in mind. changes involve alimony. got divorced finalized in 2019, the person who is paying the alimony can no longer deduct that expense that is a change also, the medical expense deduction. the threshold you need to exceed in order to claim that deduction is 10% of your adjusted gross income unreimbursed medical expenses have to be above 10% of your

ags. higher and aspects a lot of people and health insurance tax penalty. you no longer pay a penalty. that's eliminated. >> one of the biggest changes that happened in 2018 double of standard duction change in line for that to 2019? >> good news actually went up again a little. a couple hundred dollars for single filers now $12,200. married finaling jointly, $24,400. head of household over $18,000 keep in mind, that if you are trying to figure out whether or not you should take the standard deduction or itemize, there are a couple things you may want to do if you're on that line that could increase your itemized deductions one of the things you may want to think about is pre-pay your mortgage payment for 2020. making sure you pay some of that interest to get the interest write-off there. also think about your state and local income taxes and property taxes pre-paying some of that.

keeping in mind, of course, that $10,000 cap there on that, and so if you're going to exceed that, it may not make that much of a difference. for some people, it may make a significance different a great way to think about giving and getting a tax break increase charitable contributions. >> what if taking the standard deduction is your best bet and you don't plan to itemize? >> one of the mange things to do, reduce taxable income dollar for dollar best way to do that if you have access to a 401(k) plan increase pre-tax contributions there. figure how much you need to contribute to get to that maximum amount, that's $19,000 for the average person it's $25,000, $,000 catch-up contribution if 50 or older and sole oh 401(k) participants, self-employed get even more money. over $56,000 for or $62,000 if you're 50 or older

also contribute to the 529 plan. again, you're earnings in that plan will go federally tax-free and you may also be able to get a state tax deduction. >> depending on which state. >> right more than 30 offer a state dax deduction and consider, talked about this before, contributing to an able account more than 9 million families in this family have children with special needs. contribute to an able account to aid in some of the care you need for that child and up to $15,000 you can get a state tax deduction in many states for that and, again, earnings in an able account will grow federally f tax-free. >> thank you see you next week. up next "on the money," a look at the news for the week ahead. and if you are searching for a new car, what's the best bet for your money "consumer reports" has its annual reliability ratings we'll tell you who's on top and who's not. with twice the fresh-scent power.

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here are the stories coming up that may impact your money this week. wednesday the federal reserve make as decision on interest rates after a two-day meeting's also a look at consumer inflation with the consumer price index for november and it was 11 years ago bernie madoff was arrested. he was responsible for the largest ponzi scheme in u.s. history. thursday, see if there's inflation on the producer side but the producer price index for november and friday see how

consumers are doing with the retail sales report. one year after dropping tegs lahr from its recommended lists vehicles "consumer reports" changed its mind about the electric vehicle it's part of the "consumer reports" auto relibltd survey. phil lebeau has the best and the worst. >> reporter: the question everybody asks themselves in the showroom will this car or truck hold up after i own it "consumer reports," which tests hundreds of model, once again asked its members to review. the result, cars are better but the technology still has glitches. >> biggest thing, not seeing engines fall out of a car, major problems with power and drive chain but you see a number of electrical issues. computers that work for all the systems tend to be more problematic. >> reporter: "consumer reports" rates lexus and the most reliable brand followed by mazda a

and toyota very korean model average or better reliability "consumer reports" returns tesla thanks to improving reliableability with the model 3 and model s. >> tesla builds more vehicles and have another model year, another model year after that they go and fix the problems. >> reporter: this year cadillac was rated dead last. right behind alfa romeo and acura. at the bottom of the list for this "consumer reports" reliability survey does it means your sales will suffer not necessarily. historically jeep near the bottom of the list on reliability. becky we've talked about it many times one of the hottest brands in terms of sales here in the u.s. >> i guess we're a very vain bunch? saying we care more about marketing, brand appeal and what we look like rather than reliability? >> a huge part of it right now styling of the jeep

models is one reason why sales are so strong despite the low reliability ratings. the concern in the auto industry, if you're continually near the bottom of the list you get the reputation people ultimately will pay attention to when they go to the dealership. >> think about the cars constantly breaking down i don't know if i should say some out loud, buonce you get ta reputation, look out. >> absolutely. >> phil, great to see you. >> you, too. folks, that's our show for today. i'm becky quick. thank you so much for joining us. next week, no bugs, but there will be holiday chocolate. jacques is here with his latest creations, each week keepright here we're "on the money. have a great week and we will see you next weekend. hi i'm joan lunden.

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