Eating Insects For The Planet's Sake

Entomophagy — the consumption of insects — is often put forward as a sustainable solution to the problem of how to feed a growing population with fewer natural resources. As healthy and sustainable as they are, can insects make their way into the mainstream of a food culture that has actively excluded them for so long?

- Jennifer Richards

A cross the food system, scientists, researchers and policymakers are all acutely aware that the population of the planet is on track to be 9 billion by 2050. If the planet is going to accommodate such a large number of people without losing any of the precious biodiversity that is already under threat due to climate change, we are going to need to eat wisely. Diets, particularly energy-intense Western ones as consumed by many Australians, need to evolve to be healthier and more sustainable for the people’s sake as well as the planet’s … and they need to do it fast.

Edible insects are set to play a starring role in this process. Although the idea of eating crickets, ants and mealworms seems novel and niche to modern Western eaters, insects like these have been eaten in Asia, Africa and Latin America and by Indigenous Australians for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. However, since the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations launched its 2013 report Edible Insects: Future Prospects for Food and Feed Security there has been an explosion of activity designed to make insects appealing for Western consumers. In fact, in 2018 the global edible insect market was worth around US$1 billion and some reputable forecasters predict it will be worth $8 billion by 2030, if not before.

Big bug business

Interest in edible insects is growing exponentially. One person who has directly witnessed this growth is Skye Blackburn, an insect farmer, entomologist, food scientist and entrepreneur from western Sydney. She’s been working with edible insects for over a decade and has seen attitudes change significantly over that time.