Keys to a better genetic selection plan
Christine Picard opened the third day of the congress with an enlightening presentation on genetic selection. Inspired by lessons from the past, she described the domestication process in three different stages.
- The adaptation stage’s purpose is to recreate a specific insect’s environment under artificial conditions.
- The acclimatation process measures the potential of the species.
- The domestication stage allows us to select the traits that suits our needs better. It uses the genomic variation within the species.
Mrs. Picard highlighted the importance of the genetic selection when performing experiments. She invited the scientific community to focus on every stage of the rearing process to improve the whole production’s performance instead of one specific stage such as mating.
Lunch & learn about Scaling Up Insect Production
As the participants were enjoying yellow mealworm lasagna, Barbara Campbell from Natural Products Canada animated a discussion featuring Mohammed Ashour, Bob Holtermans, Nicolas Braun, Lars-Henrik Lau Heckmann, Geert Poels and Artur Kuhl.
These six visionaries shared what a successful edible insect industry would look like, focusing on scaling up insect production. They highlighted the importance of sharing information between industry actors. Furthermore, they encouraged the participants to plan a business model based on the specialization of a specific part of the production chain instead of a global integration. This approach should improve the efficiency of the production chain and better locate geographically each step of the process. It could also enhance the sustainability of the industry.
