Children at four primary schools will be offered insect protein during workshops to gauge youngsters' appetite for "alternative protein". The children will reportedly be given a product called VeXo, a combination of insect and plant-based protein.
The product is said to look like "conventional" mince. The i newspaper said researchers are hoping to use data from the study to learn how best to educate children about the nutritional and environmental benefits of eating creepy crawlies - such as crickets, grasshoppers, silkworms, locusts and mealworms.
The investigation, which will use children aged from 5-11, is being led by Christopher Bear at Cardiff University. The study will use surveys, workshops, interviews and focus groups to explore young people’s understandings of alternative proteins - and as part of the research they will be offered a sample if they wish to try it, the Daily Star reports.
Mr Bear told the i: “We want the children to think about alternative proteins as real things for now, rather than just as foods for the future, so trying some of these foods is central to the research. Although edible insects are – for now – not sold widely in the UK, they form part of the diet of around 2 billion people worldwide.
"Much of this is in parts of the world where they are part of long-standing culinary traditions. And they are increasingly popular elsewhere.
Four primary schools in Wales will take part in the study. Carl Evans, headteacher at one of the schools, Roch Community Primary in Pembrokeshire. said that the issue was “important” but that it was “difficult” for youngsters to make sense of the issue.
The experiment has met with a mixed response on social media. According to science journal PloS One, mealworms can produce less than 1% of the greenhouse gas from cows and around 10% of a pig’s smaller carbon 'hoof print'.
