In temperate zones, insect farming is performed largely by family-run enterprises that rear insects such as mealworms, crickets and grasshoppers in large quantities, mainly
as pets or for zoos. Some of these firms have only recently been able to commercialise insects as food and feed, and the part of their production intended for direct human consumption is still minimal.A few industrial-scale enterprises are in various stages of start-up for rearing mass quantities of insects such as black soldier flies. They are mainly for consumption as whole insects or to be processed into meal for feed. Critical elements for successful rearing include research on biology, rearing condition control and diet formulas for the farmed insect species. Current production systems are expensive, with many patents pending. A major challenge of such industrial-scale rearing is the development of automation processes to make plants economically competitive with the production of meat (or meat-substitutes like soy) from traditional livestock or farming sources.
Insects as Animal Feed
Recent high demand and consequent high prices for fishmeal/soybeans, together with increasing aquacultural production, is pushing new research into the development of insect protein for aquaculture and poultry. Insect-based feed products could have a similar market to fishmeal and soy, which are presently the major components used in feed formulations for aquaculture and livestock. Available evidence suggests that insect-based feeds are comparable with fishmeal and soy-based feed formulae. Live and dead insects already have established niche markets, mainly as feed given to pets and at zoos.
Processing
Insects are often consumed whole but can also be processed into granular or paste forms. Extracting proteins, fats, chitin, minerals and vitamins is also possible. At present, such extraction processes are too costly and will need to be further developed to render them profitable and applicable for industrial use in the food and feed sectors.
Food Safety and Preservation
The processing and storage of insects and their products should follow the same health and sanitation regulations as for any other traditional food or feed items in order to ensure food safety. Because of their biological makeup, several issues should be considered, such as microbial safety, toxicity, palatability and the presence of inorganic compounds.
Specific health implications should also be considered when insects for feed are reared on waste products such as manure or slaughterhouse waste. Evidence of allergies induced through the ingestion of insects is scarce, but does exist. Some cases have been reported of allergic reactions to arthropods.
Livelihood Improvement
Insect gathering and rearing as mini-livestock at the household level or industrial scale can offer important livelihood opportunities for people in both developing and developed countries. In developing countries, some of the poorest members of society, such as women and landless dwellers in urban and rural areas, can easily become involved in the gathering, cultivation, processing and sale of insects.
These activities can directly improve their own diets and provide cash income through the selling of excess production as street foods. Insects can be directly and easily collected from nature or farmed with minimal technical or capital expenditure (i.e. for basic harvesting/rearing equipment). Rearing insects may also require minimal land or market introduction efforts, as insects already form part of some local food cultures.
Protein and other nutritional deficiencies are typically more widespread in disadvantaged segments of society and during times of social conflict and natural disaster. Because of their nutritional composition, accessibility, simple rearing techniques and quick growth rates, insects can offer a cheap and efficient opportunity to counter nutritional insecurity by providing emergency food and by improving livelihoods and the quality of traditional diets among vulnerable people.
Economic Development
Gathering and farming insects can offer employment and cash income, either at the household level or in larger, industrial-scale operations. In developing countries in Southern and Central Africa and Southeast Asia, where demand for edible insects exists and where it is relatively easy to bring insects to market, the process of insect gathering, rearing and processing into street foods or for sale as chicken and fish feed is easily within reach of small-scale enterprises. With only a few exceptions, international trade in insects for food is insignificant. The trade that does exist to developed countries is often driven by demand from immigrant communities or because of the development of niche markets that sell exotic foods. Border trade in edible insects is significant, mainly in Southeast Asia and Central Africa.
Communication
The polarity of views surrounding the practice of entomophagy necessarily requires tailor-made communication approaches for each of the various stakeholders. In the tropics, where entomophagy is well established, media communication strategies should promote edible insects as valuable sources of nutrition to counter the growing westernization of diets. Western societies require tailored media communication strategies and educational programmes that address the disgust factor.
Influencing the public at large as well as policymakers and investors in the food and feed sectors by providing validated information on the potential of insects as food and feed sources can help to push insects higher on political, investment and research agendas worldwide.
Legislation
Regulatory frameworks governing food and feed chains have expanded tremendously in the last 20 years; however, regulations governing insects as food and feed sources are still largely absent. For developed countries, the absence of clear legislation and norms guiding the use of insects as food and feed is among the major limiting factors hindering the industrial development of farming insects to supply the food and feed sectors. In developing countries, the use of insects for human or animal food is, in practice, more tolerated then regulated. The feed sector seems to take the lead in pushing for the development of more insect-encompassing norms, while the 'novel food' concept seems to be emerging as a leading instrument for setting rules and standards for the use of insects in human foods.
Way Forward
Any effort to release the huge potential that insects offer for enhancing food security requires that the following four key bottlenecks and challenges are addressed simultaneously.
First, further documentation is needed on the nutritional values of insects in order to more efficiently promote insects as healthy food.
Second, the environmental impacts of harvesting and farming insects must be investigated to enable comparison with traditional farming and livestock rearing practices that may be more environmentally damaging.
Third, clarification and augmentation of the socio-economic benefits that insect gathering and farming can offer is needed, in particular to enhance the food security of the poorest of society. Finally, a clear and comprehensive legal framework at (inter)national levels is needed to pave the way for more investment, leading to the full development - from the household to the industrial scale - of production and international trade in insect products as food and feed sources.
