Edible insects - what's it all about?
To many people the idea of eating an insect is somewhat unappealing. Often considered pests in the westernized world, one may not consider sitting down to a dinner of critters. But maybe we should rethink this.
Firstly, it is not as out of the ordinary as you think, for thousands of years indigenous populations have been feasting on bugs all over the world as part of a subsistent diet. Entomophagy, the practice of eating insects is estimated to be part of the diets of around 2 billion people worldwide, with nearly 2000 species considered ‘edible’ (Van Huis et al. 2013).
And although they may seem unappetising, insects hold great nutritional value (Rumpold & Schluter 2012), not to mention vastly reduced environmental and economic impacts compared to our more ‘traditional’ meats. Plus they have the benefits of potentially improving biodiversity and the rehabilitation of agricultural areas (DeFoliart 2010). There is also the idea of access to all, the level of investment needed to farm insects spans from grass roots technology right up to cutting edge. (Van Huis et al. 2013)
So why have we not explored this before? There is currently much research into the possibility of cultivating insects on a much larger scale in order to tackle many of the global issues we are facing. However before this can be implemented, potentially harmful pathogens, microbes, allergens and antinutrients need to be assessed (Rumpold & Schluter 2012).
Firstly, it is not as out of the ordinary as you think, for thousands of years indigenous populations have been feasting on bugs all over the world as part of a subsistent diet. Entomophagy, the practice of eating insects is estimated to be part of the diets of around 2 billion people worldwide, with nearly 2000 species considered ‘edible’ (Van Huis et al. 2013).
And although they may seem unappetising, insects hold great nutritional value (Rumpold & Schluter 2012), not to mention vastly reduced environmental and economic impacts compared to our more ‘traditional’ meats. Plus they have the benefits of potentially improving biodiversity and the rehabilitation of agricultural areas (DeFoliart 2010). There is also the idea of access to all, the level of investment needed to farm insects spans from grass roots technology right up to cutting edge. (Van Huis et al. 2013)
So why have we not explored this before? There is currently much research into the possibility of cultivating insects on a much larger scale in order to tackle many of the global issues we are facing. However before this can be implemented, potentially harmful pathogens, microbes, allergens and antinutrients need to be assessed (Rumpold & Schluter 2012).