Edible Insects (National Taiwan University)
https://www.coursera.org/learn/edible-insects
Why Why not: Cultural differences between which animals (and parts of animals) are and aren’t food → Too cute? Too scary? Disgust? Safety? Endangered? More useful alive? Bad taste? Racism? Lower inputs (space, feed, water), lower emissions, higher nutrition density (low carb, medium protein, high protein, high fibre, high nutrients/minerals) Insects react to external (but not internal) physical pain but don’t seem to care - they don’t suffer (mental), they’re likely not conscious Veganism kills more than entoveganism: 1 acre of crops kills 800,000 insects Can be prepared in a huge variety of ways, from flour/minced to whole as nuts/land-prawns substitutes, and have a range of innate flavours Circular agriculture: flies eat chicken waste, chickens eat fly larvae Utilise food waste (avoid landfill) Space food!? Market strategy Innovation success: relative advantage (better), compatibility (with values), complexity, trialability (MVP), observability Passive rejection: lack of supply limits consumption (”I want to, but can’t”) From novel to normal: form (look like food), availability (supermarket) Supply Most common today in Thailand (leader in farming and research), Mexico (mostly traditional methods) Food safety concerns similar to other animal products, so ensure quality feed and cleanliness Novel food laws vary by region, e.g. US assumes safe and Europe assumes dangerous Traditional collection from the wild Depletion, seasonal, labour intensive, higher risk of disease Farming Largest companies in USA, Netherlands, Thailand Already large farms for animal feed (chickens, fish, reptiles, etc) Crickets 21% protein chicken feed for 20 days, then 14-21% protein feed, leaves or fruits before harvest at day 45 (for flavour) Maintain temperature; keep ants/predators out; avoid overcrowing; avoid inbreeding Mating from days 40-45; within 24 hours of males singing, add bowl of sand/soil/rice husks for egg laying; move bowls to breeding tank, hatch in 7-10 days Mealworms 25-30C, 65-70% humidity, leave open or ventilated lid, in dark, like crowds; harvest 3~4 months, keep 10% for next generation Tiered system: tray on top for beetles, mesh for larvae to fall through to bottom tray Other uses Cheese, honey, food colouring, silk, fertiliser, tea, sweeteners, polish, medicines, … Links Vincent Holt (1885) “Why not eat insects?” https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=awNbAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false Shelomi (2015) “Why we still don’t eat insects: Assessing entomophagy promotion through a diffusion of innovations framework.” https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S092422441500151X?via%3Dihub Jongema, Y. (2017). “List of edible insects of the world” https://web.archive.org/web/20230416025101/https://www.wur.nl/en/research-results/chair-groups/plant-sciences/laboratory-of-entomology/edible-insects/worldwide-species-list.htm van Huis, A., Oonincx, D.G.A.B. The environmental sustainability of insects as food and feed https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-017-0452-8 Fischer, B. (2019). “How to reply to some ethical objections to entomophagy.” https://doi.org/10.1093/aesa/saz011 https://warning.acfs.go.th/th/articles-and-research/view/?page=30 (มกษ) (An e-book with illustrated instructions.) https://www.bugsolutely.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/GAP_ENG_Bugsolutely.pdf https://www.acfs.go.th/standard/download/GUIDANCE_GAP_CRICKET_FARM.pdf https://entonation.com/thailand-releases-first-ever-good-ag-practices-cricket-farming/ https://www.foodnavigator-asia.com/Article/2018/03/19/Good-Agricultural-Practices-for-cricket-farming-released-for-the-first-time Dortmans, B., Diener, S., Verstappen, B., & Zurbrügg, C. (2017). Black soldier fly biowaste processing: a step-by-step guide. Dübendorf, Switzerland: Eawag, Sandec. https://www.dora.lib4ri.ch/eawag/islandora/object/eawag:15615 Bugsolutely. “Trying Edible Insects for the First Time” https://www.bugsolutely.com/manga/
