Researchers explore the ecological sustainability of the insect food industry

as grilled crickets became more popular as a protein-rich snack, restaurants also tried to add powder bugs to their menus. But there is a "desperate lack of understanding" of the ecological sustainability of the emerging insect food industry.
swedish researchers explore unanswered questions about insect breeding, safety and environmental impacts in an opinion piece published January 15 in The Trends in Ecology and Evolution. Overall, however, they are optimistic that suppliers will be able to meet these challenges.
"as global demand for protein grows, large-scale insect feeding may play an important role in the future food supply." "We know that in the future people may no longer be able to continue producing food and using land as they do now," said Asa Berggren, conservation biologist at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and lead author of the paper.
Berggren and colleagues Anna Jansson and Matthew Low point out that the use of insects as food has the potential for environmental sustainability due to nutritional quality and feed conversion rates, but there are many fundamental issues that need to be addressed before the industry develops.
", we might turn one environmental problem into another. "Although the industry is still in its infancy, some companies are getting bigger and better, and risks will follow. "
in several areas that need to be studied, one of the more pressing areas involves unwanted system products. For example, the full impact of large-scale insect feeding is not yet known. Fugitives can wreak havoc on ecosystems, which researchers describe as a "climate disaster." Other issues include species and life history trade-offs, sustainable feed production, food safety and ethics.
But because the industry is still young - Americans spent $55 million on eating insects in 2017 - it will take time for insect food to reach a wider audience, and researchers believe there is still time to do the right research and develop environmental policies. (Source: Tang Erdu, China Science Daily)