Will eating insects save the planet?
An insect diet may be a solution for food insecurity
Eating insects may be healthier, cheaper and better for the environment than consuming meat.
The Singapore Food Agency announced last month that it has approved 16 insect species as fit for human consumption.
The agency has permitted some species of beetle, locusts, grasshoppers and mealworms to be sold as food. These insects cannot simply be harvested from the wild. They must be “farmed on premises regulated by the competent authority," according to the agency.
While entomophagy, the practice of eating insects, in many parts of the world remains a gastronomic esotericism, Singapore is one of several countries that have begun to welcome it.
Indeed, in some parts of the world, insects are served up as popular street food. But do we all need to be switching our diets to include insects?
Why should we eat insects?
Some of the arguments for eating insects include:
- They are environmentally more sustainable and cheaper to produce than beef.
- They are higher in protein and other nutrients than meat.
- They can be farmed without hormones.
- They may be a solution to a food-insecure, overharvested and overfished world.
- According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), 60% of fish stocks worldwide are overfished.
Climate change is shifting our relationship with food and many believe insects are a viable, environmentally sustainable protein alternative to meat, given the high carbon footprint of livestock farming, which some peer-reviewed journals estimate produces 14.5% to 19.6% of total global greenhouse gas emissions.
In 2022, the World Economic Forum published a report incentivising eating bugs, citing climate change and the high protein content of insects as reasons.
But already in 2013, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation had proposed entomophagy as a solution to food insecurity.
Is eating insects healthy?
It might bug you to know this, but, yes, in certain circumstances.
Different types of insects contain different amounts of nutrients, but they tend to be dense in protein, iron and calcium, among other nutrients.
MightyCricket, a US-based website that sells cricket powder, says crickets contain 10 times more vitamin B12 than beef.
The Canada-based sports nutrition business Naak says 100 grams of chopped beef steak contain about 20g of protein, compared with the 60g of protein that 100 grams of cricket steak contain.
Is eating insects good for the environment?
A big reason for the rise in sentiment in favour of eating insects is due to the significantly low environmental footprint insects have.
The production of meat and dairy products accounts for 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to an FAO report.
MightyCricket’s website says crickets use 50% to 90% less land per kilogramme of protein than conventional livestock.
According to the 2013 FAO report, producing 100g of beef steak creates 750g of greenhouse gas emissions. To produce 100g of crickets, the amount of emissions is estimated to be 100 times less.
The agency has permitted some species of beetle, locusts, grasshoppers and mealworms to be sold as food. These insects cannot simply be harvested from the wild. They must be “farmed on premises regulated by the competent authority," according to the agency.
While entomophagy, the practice of eating insects, in many parts of the world remains a gastronomic esotericism, Singapore is one of several countries that have begun to welcome it.
Indeed, in some parts of the world, insects are served up as popular street food. But do we all need to be switching our diets to include insects?
Why should we eat insects?
Some of the arguments for eating insects include:
- They are environmentally more sustainable and cheaper to produce than beef.
- They are higher in protein and other nutrients than meat.
- They can be farmed without hormones.
- They may be a solution to a food-insecure, overharvested and overfished world.
- According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), 60% of fish stocks worldwide are overfished.
Climate change is shifting our relationship with food and many believe insects are a viable, environmentally sustainable protein alternative to meat, given the high carbon footprint of livestock farming, which some peer-reviewed journals estimate produces 14.5% to 19.6% of total global greenhouse gas emissions.
In 2022, the World Economic Forum published a report incentivising eating bugs, citing climate change and the high protein content of insects as reasons.
But already in 2013, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation had proposed entomophagy as a solution to food insecurity.
Is eating insects healthy?
It might bug you to know this, but, yes, in certain circumstances.
Different types of insects contain different amounts of nutrients, but they tend to be dense in protein, iron and calcium, among other nutrients.
MightyCricket, a US-based website that sells cricket powder, says crickets contain 10 times more vitamin B12 than beef.
The Canada-based sports nutrition business Naak says 100 grams of chopped beef steak contain about 20g of protein, compared with the 60g of protein that 100 grams of cricket steak contain.
Is eating insects good for the environment?
A big reason for the rise in sentiment in favour of eating insects is due to the significantly low environmental footprint insects have.
The production of meat and dairy products accounts for 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to an FAO report.
MightyCricket’s website says crickets use 50% to 90% less land per kilogramme of protein than conventional livestock.
According to the 2013 FAO report, producing 100g of beef steak creates 750g of greenhouse gas emissions. To produce 100g of crickets, the amount of emissions is estimated to be 100 times less.
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