Insects May Be the Answer to
Consumer Demand for More Protein
Consumer Demand for More Protein
The Institute of Food Technologists, CHICAGO, July 14, 2015
— The growing consumer demand for protein—and the lack of new farmland to raise
more livestock—could make insects an attractive alternative to traditional
protein sources, according to a July 13 symposium at IFT15: Where Science Feeds
Innovation hosted by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) in Chicago.
“We have 7 billion people now and that’s projected to be 9
billion in 2050. We’re already using a third of the land on Earth for raising
livestock, and the demand for protein is growing even faster than the
population, especially animal protein,” said Aaron Dossey, Ph.D., founder of
All Things Bugs LLC. “The good news is I think insects are a very nutritional
alternative.”
Dossey’s company, which will produce about 25,000 pounds of
cricket powder this year, has received research grants for several projects
related to using insects as food, including how it can alleviate childhood malnutrition.
He cited several properties that make it a valuable food source, including:
•Efficiency. They use less land, water, feed, energy and
other resources than livestock.
•Environmentally friendly/clean. Insects create fewer
greenhouse gases and are not contaminated with pesticides. They also do not
have any hormones in their bodies.
•Prolific. They reproduce quickly so they can replace
depleted resources.
•Biodiverse. There are millions of insect species, so it is
easy to find a match to a location’s need.
•Nutritious. They have protein and Omega 3s, a class of
essential fatty acids that help lower cholesterol.
While the research is promising, George C. Ziobro, Ph.D., of
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied
Nutrition, cautioned that it would not be simple to add insects to the typical
diet. He cited the FDA’s requirements that all food be clean, manufactured
under sanitary conditions and properly labeled. In the case of insects used in
food manufacturing, that means they must be raised specifically to be used as
human food, not simply taken from the outdoors, because of the risk of disease
or pesticides.
“We all eat insects or insect parts. In most cases, it is
accidentally,” Ziobro said. “The FDA restricts the sale of insect-infested or
insect-damaged foods. The vast majority of people don’t want to see part of
their breakfast walk off the plate.”
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