Edible Insects
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1.04cm spine for 208pg on 90g eco paper ISSN 0258-6150 FAO 171 FORESTRY 171 PAPER FAO FORESTRY PAPER 171 Edible insects Edible insects Future prospects for food and feed security Future prospects for food and feed security Edible insects have always been a part of human diets, but in some societies there remains a degree of disdain Edible insects: future prospects for food and feed security and disgust for their consumption. Although the majority of consumed insects are gathered in forest habitats, mass-rearing systems are being developed in many countries. Insects offer a significant opportunity to merge traditional knowledge and modern science to improve human food security worldwide. This publication describes the contribution of insects to food security and examines future prospects for raising insects at a commercial scale to improve food and feed production, diversify diets, and support livelihoods in both developing and developed countries. It shows the many traditional and potential new uses of insects for direct human consumption and the opportunities for and constraints to farming them for food and feed. It examines the body of research on issues such as insect nutrition and food safety, the use of insects as animal feed, and the processing and preservation of insects and their products. It highlights the need to develop a regulatory framework to govern the use of insects for food security. And it presents case studies and examples from around the world. Edible insects are a promising alternative to the conventional production of meat, either for direct human consumption or for indirect use as feedstock. To fully realize this potential, much work needs to be done by a wide range of stakeholders. This publication will boost awareness of the many valuable roles that insects play in sustaining nature and human life, and it will stimulate debate on the expansion of the use of insects as food and feed. ISBN 978-92-5-107595-1 ISSN 0258-6150 FAO 9 789251 075951 I3253E/1/04.13 1.04cm spine for 208pg on 90g eco paper Cover photos, clockwise from top left: Women selling caterpillars in Bangui, Central African Republic (P. Vantomme) Gold-painted crickets on top of Belgian chocolates (P. Vantomme) Black soldier fly in a mass-rearing unit (L. Heaton) Appetizers prepared with insects (T. Calame) Coleoptera species used as a food colorant (A. Halloran) Palm weevil larvae (O. Ndoye) FAO FORESTRY Edible insects: PAPER future prospects for 171 food and feed security by Arnold van Huis Joost Van Itterbeeck Harmke Klunder Esther Mertens Afton Halloran Giulia Muir and Paul Vantomme FOOD AND agRICULTURE ORgaNIZATION OF The UNITED NATIONS Rome, 2013 The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of FAO. ISBN 978-92-5-107595-1 (print) E-ISBN 978-92-5-107596-8 (PDF) © FAO 2013 FAO encourages the use, reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product. Except where otherwise indicated, material may be copied, downloaded and printed for private study, research and teaching purposes, or for use in non-commercial products or services, provided that appropriate acknowledgement of FAO as the source and copyright holder is given and that FAO’s endorsement of users’ views, products or services is not implied in any way. All requests for translation and adaptation rights, and for resale and other commercial use rights should be made via www.fao.org/contact-us/licence- request or addressed to [email protected]. FAO information products are available on the FAO website (www.fao.org/ publications) and can be purchased through [email protected]. iii Contents Foreword ................................................................................................................... ix Abbreviations ............................................................................................................. x Authors’ preface ....................................................................................................... xi Acknowledgements ................................................................................................. xii Executive Summary ................................................................................................. xiii 1. Introduction.................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Why eat insects? ............................................................................................... 2 1.2 Why FAO? .......................................................................................................... 2 2. The role of insects.......................................................................................... 5 2.1 Beneficial roles of insects for nature and humans ......................................... 5 2.2 Entomophagy around the world ..................................................................... 9 2.3 Examples of important insect species consumed ......................................... 20 2.4 Important insect products ............................................................................. 29 3. Culture, religion and the history of entomophagy ................................... 35 3.1 Why are insects not eaten in Western countries? ........................................ 35 3.2 Why were insects never domesticated for food? ......................................... 37 3.3 Negative attitudes towards insects ............................................................... 39 3.4 History of entomophagy ................................................................................ 40 4. Edible insects as a natural resource ........................................................... 45 4.1 Edible insect ecology ...................................................................................... 45 4.2 Collecting from the wild: potential threats and solutions ........................... 45 4.3 Conservation and management of edible insect resources ........................ 48 4.4 Semi-cultivation of edible insects .................................................................. 51 4.5 Pest management ........................................................................................... 55 5. Environmental opportunities of insect rearing for food and feed .......... 59 5.1 Feed conversion .............................................................................................. 60 5.2 Organic side streams ...................................................................................... 60 5.3 Greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions ..................................................... 62 5.4 Water use ........................................................................................................ 64 5.5 Life cycle analysis ............................................................................................ 64 5.6 Animal welfare ............................................................................................... 65 5.7 Risk of zoonotic infections ............................................................................. 65 5.8 “One Health” concept .................................................................................... 66 6. Nutritional value of insects for human consumption ................................67 6.1 Nutritional composition ................................................................................. 67 6.2 Beef versus insects: an example of the mealworm ...................................... 74 6.3 Insects as part of diets ................................................................................... 76 6.4 Sustainable diets ............................................................................................. 79 6.5 Edible insects in emergency relief programmes ........................................... 79 iv 7. Insects as animal feed .................................................................................. 89 7.1 Overview ......................................................................................................... 89 7.2 Poultry and fish fed with insects ................................................................... 90 7.3 Key insect species used as feed ..................................................................... 93 8. Farming insects ............................................................................................ 99 8.1 Definitions and concepts ............................................................................... 99 8.2 Insect farming ................................................................................................. 99 8.3 Insect farming for human consumption ..................................................... 101 8.4 Insect farming for feed ................................................................................ 103 8.5