Insects as a future human protein source

Abstract EN

If the current birth rates continue, the earth’s population will grow from the current 6.7 billion to an estimated 9.2 billion by the year 2050, most of which will be in the less developed countries.

If the world cannot feed those now living, it would be impossible to feed 2.5 billion more people without greatly increasing the earth’s food producing capacity.

In recent years, food production has risen due to advances in research and technology.

However, this increase in food production has not been enough to keep up with the world’s population growth due to an uneven distribution of available food across the world.

Despite the efforts of protein substitutes such as single cell protein, fish protein concentrate and soybean protein there are still an estimated 800 million people suffering from calorie and protein deficiencies.

In addition, increased livestock and biodiesel production has taken land away from crop production and put strain on farming and food industries.

The protein quality of the diet is generally enhanced if animal foods are consumed as most animal protein contain all the essential amino acids humans require in their diet.

Since livestock consume more dry matter per day on a weight basis than humans, the world needs to shift its emphasis away from these traditional meat sources.

One solution is to utilize the seemingly inexhaustible supply of insects as a protein source for human consumption in order to alleviate the world protein deficiency and maintain the diets of the ever increasing human populations.

Entomophagy, the art of eating insects, has been practiced since the dawn of man.

Insects formed a critical part of the diet of early man as they still do in many cultures today.

Although small in size, insects due to their prodigious numbers exceed in weight all other animal matter.

This great mass of material possesses genuine food value.

It is, therefore, conceivable that insect farming will be a part of a new agricultural system and through proper marketing techniques they will become a widely excepted food source.