Insects May Someday Solve World’s Growing Demand For Protein

June 25, 2014: 12:00 AM EST

Are insects the answer to the problem of feeding the world’s fast-growing population? According to entrepreneurial and academic panelists at a recent food technology meeting, the answer is a resounding yes. The world devotes 70 percent of its agricultural land – 30 percent of all land – to growing the livestock that provides most of the protein we eat. The burden would be eased considerably by introducing insects into the diet. They provide a promising, economically viable alternative source of high quality protein, but require less feed, water, land and energy to produce. Insects are frequently eaten in other parts of the world, but not in America. "We have to overcome the 'ick' factor," said a food product development specialist at the University of Nebraska.

Florence Dunkel et al., "Insects as the food of the future: Locusts, grasshoppers, crickets, silk moth pupae, and beetle and moth larvae", News release, Institute of Food Technologists, June 25, 2014, © Institute of Food Technologists

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