Insect opportunities in animal and human nutrition: too good to be true?
Regardless of whether nutritional or ecological arguments are taken into consideration, insects are a superfood which boasts such spectacular strengths that it seems foolish to do without it just because it's not part of our farming practices and food culture. Are we perhaps skeptical because the opportunities in this new field seem too good to be true?
Insects are getting in our kitchen, not to ruin our food, but to give some precious added value. Image: © Entomos SA
Insects on our plate? What for?
Just imagine monstrous water savings, a tenfold increase in food productivity for every square of floor space (vertical farming), a drastic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, energy savings (use of heat produced by computer servers), improved food conversion (even better than poultry), eating 100% of the insect (most species). In addition, let's use insect excrement to naturally fertilize the soil, allowing for better plant growth.
And there's more to come, as a third of the food we produce, which seems to go to waste, can be used as food for insects. In other words, food waste is transformed into superfood.
There's no need to deforest areas, sacrifice agricultural land or bring in feed from the other side of the planet... The perfect virtuous circle, a near-ideal ecological project that can put an end to destructive soybean production.
In terms of nutrition, there's no shortage of arguments here either: high protein content (including nine essential amino acids, high digestibility rate), vitamins aplenty (including B12), micronutrients. In short: superfood.
As for food safety, the risk of transmission of zoonotic pathogens at least for the species approved by the EU is considered as nonexistent[i]and there are no known cases of transmission of diseases or parasitoids to humans from the consumption of insects (provided that the insects were handled under the same sanitary conditions as any other food). Allergies that are comparable with allergies to crustaceans are, however, possible[ii].
Facts and numbers
Water consumption:
Agriculture consumes about 70% of freshwater worldwide. The production of 1 kg chicken protein is estimated to require 34 000 liters of virtual* water (including water required for forage and grain production), 1 kg pork protein requires 57 000 liters, and 1 kg beef protein requires 112 000 liters. Estimates for mealworms are 23 000 l per 1 kg protein.[iii] Mealworms are more drought-resistant than cattle.
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions:
Livestock rearing is responsible for 18% of GHG emissions (CO2 equivalent), a higher share than the transport sector. Mealworm larvae, crickets and locusts, which have entered the Western markets, produce fewer GHG emissions per kg of mass gain by a factor of about 100 compared to pigs and beef cattle.[iv]
Food conversion:
Insects are very efficient at converting feed into protein, probably because being cold-blooded animals they do not consume energy to maintain their body temperature. Crickets need 12 times less feed than cattle, four times less feed than sheep, and half as much feed as pigs and broiler chickens to produce the same amount of protein.[iv]
Food waste:
Some insect species are very efficient at bioconverting organic waste and they could collectively convert 1.3 billion tonnes of biowaste per year.[iv]
Better land use:
As insects can be raised vertically, breeding them requires a smaller portion of land than common livestock. Producing 1 kg protein from mealworms needs around 15 m2, compared with 55 m2 for pigs and 150-250m2 for cattle[v].
Risk of zoonotic infections:
The risk of infections transmitted by wild or domestic animals to humans (e. g. SARS, H5N1, H7N7) is considered as inexistent for insects because insects are taxonomically much more distant from humans than conventional livestock.
Swiss regulations
-Tenebrio molitor, larva (mealworm)
Larva, pupa and adult yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) are shown from left to right. Image: Adobe Stock
-Acheta domesticus, adult (house cricket)
House cricket (Acheta domesticus). Image: Adobe Stock
- Locusta migratoria, adult (migratory locust)
An adult migratory locust (Locusta migratoria). Image: Adobe Stock
Food ingredients isolated from these insect species, such as protein extracts, and the use of other insect species are not permitted. In both cases, authorization as a novel food is required.
The application for the authorization of a novel food must contain information on the composition and specifications, the methods of analysis, the intended use and the conditions of use, the production process or the propagation and breeding methods.[vi]
If a novel food is classified as such and authorized, this is done in the form of an individual order. The authorization is granted for a period of five years with no option of extension. If the conditions relating to food safety and prohibition of deception are still fulfilled after the authorisation has expired, the novel food is included in the Annex to the Federal Department of Home Affairs Ordinance on Novel Foods (in French) after re-examination by the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office.[vii]
Are we there yet?
That was the theory, the prototype, the laboratory concept,… The reality of industrialization, the complexity of nature, the scalability of mass production are always extraordinarily more complex to implement! Imagine billions of insects reared on the same site and then bacterial contamination spreading, causing high mortality rates...
Fried crickets are common food in many Asian countries. Image: Adobe Stock
Besides, insects as food are... yuck! Unlike in Asia, Africa, Central and South America, eating insects is not part of our Western culture and, in the end, maybe we don't need it, because it'll never work, nobody will want to eat them, so let's leave edible insects to the thrill-seekers or the peoples who already eat them. Let's concentrate instead on plant-based alternatives or laboratory foods – this is going to be enough. What's more, hardcore vegans and vegetarians who do not eat animals, will never eat insects.
Are they even tasty?
As far as animal feed is concerned: yes, there’s no question that no chicken will resist a juicy insect meal. But insects for the human palate? Sometimes their taste is associated with hazelnuts, other times with popcorn, shrimps and so on. But this is not the key to this answer, because, in the end, the judgment of taste is totally individual and... particularly subjective.
Pumpkin soup with mealworms in it. Image: Adobe Stock
The answer lies rather in how insects can be cooked, what insect combinations can be made, how they can be combined with other foods, how subtle they can be... Some chefs will tell you that the umami aspect is extremely interesting. Some will tell you that their weak taste is a great opportunity to put insects to infinite culinary use... The challenge of a good recipe lies more in the change of color (insects darken mixtures) or the consistency of certain recipes due to the lack of gluten (bread, pasta). So, what's the answer to this question of taste? Perhaps it's simply that insects taste neither good nor bad, but... quite the opposite!
References
[i] Żuk-Gołaszewska K et al. 2022. Edible Insect Farming in the Context of the EU Regulations and Marketing—An Overview. Insects 13(5):446. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects13050446
[ii] United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO): Edible insects Future prospects for food and feed security: https://www.fao.org/4/i3253e/i3253e.pdf
[iii] Miglietta PP 2015. Mealworms for Food: A Water Footprint Perspective. Water 7:6190-6203. https://doi.org/10.3390/w7116190
[iv] United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO): The Contribution of Insects to Food Security, Livelihoods and the Environment. https://www.fao.org/edible-insects/en/ Accessed 2.10.24
[v] Oonincx DGAB & de Boer IJM 2012. Environmental Impact of the Production of Mealworms as a Protein Source for Humans – A Life Cycle Assessment. PLoS ONE 7(12): e51145. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0051145
[vi] BLV: Authorisation of novel foods https://www.blv.admin.ch/blv/en/home/lebensmittel-und-ernaehrung/rechts-und-vollzugsgrundlagen/bewilligung-und-meldung/bewilligung.html Accessed 2.10.24
[vii] Fedlex. Verordnung des EDI über neuartige Lebensmittel. https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/2017/159/de Accessed 2.10.24