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Eating insects has various nutritional and environmental benefits, but consumers in Western countries are still struggling to tackle the “yuck” factor.
As the Earth’s growing population puts increased pressure on global food production, insects are increasingly seen as a viable food source. The buzz around this alternative source of protein has grown in Europe as the The EU Food Safety Agency has cleared the sale of dried yellow mealworms as a novel food from June 2021. It is the first insect food approved by the EU.
Edible insects are high in protein but can be raised much more sustainably than beef or pork. Globally, 2 billion people in 130 countries regularly eat insects.
However, European entrepreneurs need to find creative ways to make mealworm and cricket mouth watering. Tiziana Di Costanzo gives insect cooking classes at her west London home, where she also raises the critters in a garden shed with her husband, Tom.
His company, Horizon Insects, is part of Europe’s burgeoning edible insect scene, which includes dozens of insect-based startups offering cricket chips, bug burgers and beetle beer.
We may end up eating more insects indirectly rather than finding them on our plates, because the market shows that the most promising thing is to feed the animals. The EU approved insect protein as feed for fish farming in 2017. The US Food and Drug Administration approved it for chicken feed in 2018, while the EU approval for the poultry and pigs is expected later this year.
In the meantime, the global edible insect market is about to explode, according to investment bank Barclay’s. Citing data from Meticulous Research, he predicts the industry will reach 6.7 billion euros ($ 8 billion) by 2030, up from less than 850 million euros ($ 1 billion) in 2019. .
Click on the video to learn more about edible insects.
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