EDIBLE INSECT PET FOOD
PIONEERS
“Why shouldn’t people eat bugs?”: A conversation with Chef Yoon
We sat down with Chef Joseph Yoon to learn more about edible insects: their health benefits, their potential as a method for fighting climate change, and even – for those who are tempted – how to start incorporating them into your cooking.
ENTOMOPHAGY PRODUCTS
NUTRITION
EDIBLE INSECT CHEFS
“Why shouldn’t people eat bugs?”: A conversation with Chef Yoon
We sat down with Chef Joseph Yoon to learn more about edible insects: their health benefits, their potential as a method for fighting climate change, and even – for those who are tempted – how to start incorporating them into your cooking.
TRADITIONAL FOOD
Big Bucks For Big Bugs: The Hot New Items On The Menu In Africa
Farming flies and cockroaches to ensure food security? Read on for some of the most fascinating insights on alternative agriculture in Africa. BY PAULA SLIER AND SASHA STAR ANY CHILD GROWING UP IN THE 90S — OR their parents, for that matter — will likely recall the scene from The Lion King where Tim…
Cockroach farming: Africa’s “new oil” to look out for | Africanews
They may come across as dirty, ugly and nasty creatures that transfer germs from one source to another, but they are worth more than that. According to the World Bank, insect farming could be the answer to the continent’s hunger, poverty, and ecological crisis.
MEXICAN CUISINE
MEZCALISTA, THE NEW SEXY MEZCAL LOUNGE AT MOXY SOUTH BEACH DEBUTS MEZCAL TASTING EXPERIENCE WITH EXPERT ‘MEZCALIERS’
Paired With an Original Chipotle Chapulin (grasshopper) ‘Chex Mix’ and Mezcal Flight Mezcalista, Moxy’s new intimate lounge featuring an impressive collection of over 200 mezcals, is now inviting g…
FEATURED
10 Insects that are popular delicacies around the world | The Times of India
For most of us eating insects and bugs as a meal may seem like the grossest thing ever, but around the world insects and bugs are some of the tastiest and most popular delicacies. Here’s a glimpse of some of the popular insect recipes around the world.
Securing Our Future Food Economy And Sustainability With Insect Farming
When in 2017, Mante Sidlauskaite, founded her Lithuania-based Cogastro–the leading software solution for managing and optimizing insect farms–she banked on the country’s reputation as a center for “Fintech and digital innovation.”
BLACK SOLDIER FLIES
£1 million insect research lab opens in York
Agri-food and environmental science company Fera Science Ltd has opened a specialist insect laboratory at its Bioscience Campus (YBC) location in York, UK. The £1 million expansion involved converting a former storage unit on site into a purpose-built insect research unit, increasing Fera’s presence…
Rainforest Alliance introduces insect rearing project to Kenyan farmers
An international Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), Rainforest Alliance, has embarked on a programme of popularizing insect rearing as a new lifeline and source of income among youth and women in Embu and Kirinyaga Counties in Kenya.
INSECT AGRICULTURE
CREEPY CRAWLY CRISIS: Insects are marching towards extinction — and why we should be mightily bugged
A study by researchers from Australia, Vietnam and China shows that the rates of decline in insect populations may lead to a staggering 40% of the world’s insect species going extinct over the next few decades.
SCIENCE
The environmental impact of insect productions
The last day of the conference started strong with the keynote of Dr Sergiy Smetana, from the Food Data Group, on the environmental impact of insect production for food, feed and beyond. The Food Data Group investigated edible insects’ producers and measured their ecological production impact to present this environmental impact review of the sector.
Dr Smetana exposed the entire production process to explain how the edible insect industry is generally more durable and has a lesser ecological impact tha the other animal agricultural productions, when all the aspects linked to the final product are taken into account, from insect feed source to packaging and transport. The weaker points that increased the GES output were underlined to be targeted by producers in reducing their ecological impact. As a practical example, Dr Smetana showed how transforming fats from the Black Soldier Fly into margarine could increase the possible selling value of production while offering a more durable alternative to cow milk products. This exemple was used to explained how the transformation of primary production can drastically change the market price associated with the produce.
Finally, Dr Sergiy gave suggested that a simplified and unified information model should be introduced. This model would represent the environmental impact level associated with the production, to provide more accessible and instinctive information targeted to consumers, like the triple-A or double-A quality rating of refrigerators.
A Global Roundtable for Insect Agriculture
The members of multiple associations revolving around edible insects took the stage on this Thursday during a conference wide roundtable discussion to introduce major associations around the world and their targeted and collective actions:
The AFFIA, the Asian Food and Feed Insect Association, aims at bringing industry and research stakeholders from the insect sector in a collaborative movement towards the development of entomoculture, entomophagy and their related activities. They count 42 members operating in 13 countries with most representation in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. The AFFIA offers a platform for knowledge sharing, for collaboration and promotion, and to develop and define good practices for Asian stakeholders and joint projects engagement to lead the Asian industry.
The Insect Protein Association of Australia advocates for the Australian insect industry to be a global leader in the food and feed landscape. With 35 members from 5 countries, their stated objectives are a legislative reform, foundational research and advocacy and support to the industry.
The well known IPIFF, International Plateform of Insects for Food and Feed, a precursor in all aspects regarding organized edible insects associations, includes 82 members from all over the European Union. Representative from IPIFF stated their active involvement towards consolidating dialogues with the European commission to provide regulative certainty across all member states. They invited all the participants of the conference to reach out to them for assistance, as they provide support to members, but also to all interested parties in working with edible insects in the EU. IPIFF shares their knowledge, takes collaborative action with other umbrella associations representing the different sectors of the industry (frass, feed, agriculture, etc.)
The NACIA, North American Coalition for Insect Agriculture, stated their mission to encourage the positive use of farmed insects in North America, with a primary focus towards developing and improving the regulatory development, connecting members with industry stakeholders, and informing key stakeholders about the industry. The NACIA is currently working on the creation of a guidelines on best practices for the North American industry.
Finally, David Allan took the podium virtually to discuss about the motivators for collaborative action in the edible insect sector. He shared his vision to provide a unified voice and leadership to present and promote the global insect industry as an essential participant in the feed, food, fertilizer, and sustainable manufacturing industries.
Academic Society for Insects as food and feed
Before ending the conference, Professor Marie-Hélène Deschamps, titular of a Chair on edible insects at l’Université Laval in Québec, took the stand to present the upcoming Academic Society for Insects as food and feed (ASIFF), built in collaboration with Professor Vandenberg, Professor Tomberlin and Professor van Huis.
ENTOMOPHAGY COMPANIES
How Kenyan entrepreneur is using insects to bring change
A visit to Insectipro will see you meet the founder and CEO of the company, Talash Huibers, a young Kenyan agripreneur who is passionate about using her business to bring a transformative change to the world and who proofs that agriculture is cool and lucrative especially for the youth and women.
ALTERNATIVE PROTEINS
EDIBLE INSECT RESTAURANTS
RESOURCES
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE FLAVOR OF CRICKET SNACKS?
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE FLAVOR OF CHAPULINES?
GOOD THINGS COME IN THREES
