The World Economic Forum promotes eating insects to solve climate change concerns around food production. But as The Economist notes: "We won’t convince Europeans and Americans to go out in big numbers and start eating insects.”
The United Nations forecasts global population will rise to over 9.8 billion people by 2050, with the demand for animal-derived protein expected to increase even more. As such, Texas A&M University predicts global meat production to skyrocket in the coming decades.
However, animal-derived food, including beef, pork, and poultry, is becoming economically expensive and has been increasingly associated with the depletion of resources, emission of greenhouse gases, and health issues. Climate change advocates argue that we can’t consume meat in the future like we do today.
The increasing demand for and the rising cost of animal protein will require a significant increase in food production. But it places a heavy burden on limited natural resources, with significant challenges for the agricultural industry.
Which is why eating insects has gained traction in recent years. Eating insects for their protein content is a practice known as entomophagy. In many cultures around the world, consuming insects has been a part of traditional diets for centuries. Insects are rich in protein, healthy fats, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. The exact nutrient composition varies among different insect species but, in general, they provide a highly digestible and bioavailable source of protein. Insects have a significantly smaller environmental footprint compared to traditional livestock. They require less land, water, and feed, and produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions. Insect farming has the potential to be more sustainable and efficient.
But while insect consumption may provide various benefits, the narrative of edible insects as a solution to resource challenges and hunger may be misleading. Various problems may be associated with the sustainable production of edible insects. For example, some insect populations are under threat of extinction due to their human collection. And since other insects and animals predate on several edible insect species, decreasing their numbers may adversely affect other insect populations and a wide range of ecosystem functions such as pollination and pest control.
Using edible insects as a sustainable food source requires large-scale insect farming. But according to researchers at The University of Regensburg, Germany, there’s no proof that scaling up insect production is more sustainable than traditional livestock rearing. “Hence, the current food production methods should be supported or replaced by more sustainable production systems.”
On the date of publication, Andy Mukolo did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
