Insects Could be the Western World's Newest Meat Source Tiffany Kaiser

Insects may replace livestock meat such as beef and chicken by 2050

Those accustomed to the Western world tend to consume livestock like cows and pigs as a protein-rich meal source. But with the human population on the rise, it's becoming more important to seek out new nutritional food sources that can satisfy a large population without being as harmful, expensive, and hard to raise as livestock. The solution? Insect meat.

Marcel Dicke and Arnold Van Huis, professors of entomology at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, have already started promoting the consumption of insects in the Netherlands. They started their work in the 1990's, and at that time, many citizens of the Netherlands laughed at the idea of eating bugs. But as time went by, they became more accustomed to the idea, and in 2006, a "Wageningen - City of Insects" science festival was created to encourage the consumption of insects. Approximately 20,000 visitors attended the festival. 

Now, Dicke and Van Huis are making the argument for Westerners to jump on the bug-eating bandwagon as well. It may not seem obvious, but insects are already apart of our daily diet. In the United States, the average citizen consumes approximately one pound of insects annually through foods such as chocolate (which the FDA allows 60 insect fragments per 100 grams) and peanut butter (which the FDA allows 30 insect fragments per 100 grams). Insects are mixed into other foods as well, such as fruit juices. 

Even though insects are already part of our diet to some degree, Dicke and Van Huis see bug meat as being an alternative to meats such as beef and pork. Between 2020 and 2050, researchers predict that Westerners will consume insects regularly as an answer to our increasing population needing more meat-related resources. In fact, beef may become a luxury food item like caviar by 2050.  

In 2000, the human population was at six billion people. This number is expected to grow to nine billion people by 2050, which means there will be greater need for meat production. The problem is that livestock poses many problems as it is, and increasing the amount of livestock will only make environmental and health issues worse for humans. 

Increasing livestock production would have several environmental consequences, such as having to increase the amount of agricultural acreage "at the expense of rain forests and other natural land." Pastures already use up 70 percent of all agricultural land. Also, livestock produce greenhouse gas emissions like ammonia per pound of body weight, resulting in at least 10 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions. Insects, on the other hand, are comfortable in close living conditions, which means that raising them would not require as much space, and insects do not produce a large amount of greenhouse gas emissions. 

Many believe that eating bugs would be a worse alternative, since they are known for being dirty and disease ridden, but according to researchers, less than 0.5 percent of all insects are harmful to humans and over 1,000 species have been identified as edible. Besides, bugs raised for food are grown in hygienic conditions.  

In addition to environmental and health-related consequences, increasing livestock production would be costly. According to The Wall Street Journal, ten pounds of feed produces one pound of beef, three pounds of pork, five pounds of chicken and as much as six pounds of insect meat. Since insects are cold-blooded, they do not require as much food as livestock, who need to eat more in order to keep a warm body temperature. Not only does livestock require more food, but more water as well. It takes about 10 gallons of water to produce two pounds of meat. 

Yet another problem with livestock is that it can be wasteful. After processing the meat, 30 percent of pork, 35 percent of chicken, 45 percent of beef and 65 percent of lamb is inedible. Only 20 percent of a cricket is inedible after processing. 

While some U.S. restaurants, such as the Mexican restaurant Toloache in New York, serve an insect-related dish, more are expected to do the same throughout the country, slowly replacing meat in sauces and meatballs as well as other foods like quiche. Many who have had insects to eat describe the taste and texture as "nutty." (Daily Tech, 2.21.2011) http://www.dailytech.com/Insects+Could+be+the+Western+Worlds+Newest+Meat+Source/article20959.htm

The Six-Legged Meat of the Future

Insects are nutritious and easy to raise without harming the environment. They also have a nice nutty taste

At the London restaurant Archipelago, diners can order the $11 Baby Bee Brulee: a creamy custard topped with a crunchy little bee. In New York, the Mexican restaurant Toloache offers $11 chapulines tacos: two tacos stuffed with Oaxacan-style dried grasshoppers.

Could beetles, dragonfly larvae and water bug caviar be the meat of the future? As the global population booms and demand strains the world's supply of meat, there's a growing need for alternate animal proteins. Insects are high in protein, B vitamins and minerals like iron and zinc, and they're low in fat. Insects are easier to raise than livestock, and they produce less waste. Insects are abundant. Of all the known animal species, 80% walk on six legs; over 1,000 edible species have been identified. And the taste? It's often described as "nutty."

The vast majority of the developing world already eats insects. In Laos and Thailand, weaver-ant pupae are a highly prized and nutritious delicacy. They are prepared with shallots, lettuce, chilies, lime and spices and served with sticky rice. Further back in history, the ancient Romans considered beetle larvae to be gourmet fare, and the Old Testament mentions eating crickets and grasshoppers. In the 20th century, the Japanese emperor Hirohito's favorite meal was a mixture of cooked rice, canned wasps (including larvae, pupae and adults), soy sauce and sugar.

Will Westerners ever take to insects as food? It's possible. We are entomologists at Wageningen University, and we started promoting insects as food in the Netherlands in the 1990s. Many people laughed—and cringed—at first, but interest gradually became more serious. In 2006 we created a "Wageningen—City of Insects" science festival to promote the idea of eating bugs; it attracted more than 20,000 visitors.

Over the past two years, three Dutch insect-raising companies, which normally produce feed for animals in zoos, have set up special production lines to raise locusts and mealworms for human consumption. Now those insects are sold, freeze-dried, in two dozen retail food outlets that cater to restaurants. A few restaurants in the Netherlands have already placed insects on the menu, with locusts and mealworms (beetle larvae) usually among the dishes.

Insects have a reputation for being dirty and carrying diseases—yet less than 0.5% of all known insect species are harmful to people, farm animals or crop plants. When raised under hygienic conditions—eating bugs straight out of the backyard generally isn't recommended—many insects are perfectly safe to eat.

Meanwhile, our food needs are on the rise. The human population is expected to grow from six billion in 2000 to nine billion in 2050. Meat production is expected to double in the same period, as demand grows from rising wealth. Pastures and fodder already use up 70% of all agricultural land, so increasing livestock production would require expanding agricultural acreage at the expense of rain forests and other natural lands. Officials at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization recently predicted that beef could become an extreme luxury item by 2050, like caviar, due to rising production costs.

Raising insects for food would avoid many of the problems associated with livestock. For instance, swine and humans are similar enough that they can share many diseases. Such co-infection can yield new disease strains that are lethal to humans, as happened during a swine fever outbreak in the Netherlands in the late 1990s. Because insects are so different from us, such risks are accordingly lower.

Insects are also cold-blooded, so they don't need as much feed as animals like pigs and cows, which consume more energy to maintain their body temperatures. Ten pounds of feed yields one pound of beef, three pounds of pork, five pounds of chicken and up to six pounds of insect meat.

Insects produce less waste, too. The proportion of livestock that is not edible after processing is 30% for pork, 35% for chicken, 45% for beef and 65% for lamb. By contrast, only 20% of a cricket is inedible.

Raising insects requires relatively little water, especially as compared to the production of conventional meat (it takes more than 10 gallons of water, for instance, to produce about two pounds of beef). Insects also produce far less ammonia and other greenhouse gases per pound of body weight. Livestock is responsible for at least 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions.

Raising insects is more humane as well. Housing cattle, swine or chicken in high densities causes stress to the animals, but insects like mealworms and locusts naturally like to live in dense quarters. The insects can be crowded into vertical stacked trays or cages. Nor do bug farms have to be restricted to rural areas; they could sprout up anywhere, from a suburban strip mall to an apartment building. Enterprising gourmets could even keep a few trays of mealworms in the garage to ensure a fresh supply.

The first insect fare is likely to be incorporated subtly into dishes, as a replacement for meat in meatballs and sauces. It also can be mixed into prepared foods to boost their nutritional value—like putting mealworm paste into a quiche. And dry-roasted insects can be used as a replacement for nuts in baked goods like cookies and breads.

We continue to make progress in the Netherlands, where the ministry of agriculture is funding a new $1.3 million research program to develop ways to raise edible insects on food waste, such as brewers' grain (a byproduct of beer brewing), soyhulls (the skin of the soybean) and apple pomace (the pulpy remains after the juice has been pressed out). Other research is focusing on how protein could be extracted from insects and used in processed foods.

Though it is true that intentionally eating insects is common only in developing countries, everyone already eats some amount of insects. The average person consumes about a pound of insects per year, mostly mixed into other foods. In the U.S., most processed foods contain small amounts of insects, within limits set by the Food and Drug Administration. For chocolate, the FDA limit is 60 insect fragments per 100 grams. Peanut butter can have up to 30 insect parts per 100 grams, and fruit juice can have five fruit-fly eggs and one or two larvae per 250 milliliters (just over a cup). We also use many insect products to dye our foods, such as the red dye cochineal in imitation crab sticks, Campari and candies. So we're already some of the way there in making six-legged creatures a regular part of our diet.

Not long ago, foods like kiwis and sushi weren't widely known or available. It is quite likely that in 2020 we will look back in surprise at the era when our menus didn't include locusts, beetle larvae, dragonfly larvae, crickets and other insect delights. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703293204576106072340020728.html?mod=googlenews_wsj