Insects on the Menu: Cultural Norms and Savoring Sustainability

By Hannah Cox, A. Milz, and Ja'Leah Walker

Bugs as food may sound like a crazy idea, but in non-western cultures, it’s actually pretty common! Throughout history, humans have evolved and developed different ways to sustain themselves and survive. In fact, we continue to rely on insects to pollinate plants to provide a wide variety of nutritious fruits, vegetables, seeds, etc. Would you believe that we can also rely on insects as a source of protein? Imagine a world where we ate mealworm burgers instead of eating hamburgers with beef patties, or as an alternative to hotdogs, there were sausages made with crickets. Different insects would line the shelves of the average American grocery store, and every household would own an insect based ingredient in their pantry. What if the consumption of insects was brought mainstream to the United States, Canada and Europe?

People around the world are cooking with insects [1]

Entomophagy, or the intentional consumption of insects, is practiced in many different cultures and regions. Other cultures around the world have been consuming insects for centuries, proving these creepy crawlers to be a vital source of food for a variety of people. According to the University of Minnesota, around 80 percent of the world’s nations consume insects in one form or another. Insects not only have nutritional value, but they are more environmentally friendly and sustainable than other animal-based products. Farming insects produces far less carbon emissions than that of other animals, as well as less land usage. So, what is stopping insects from rolling (or crawling) off the shelves?

The answer may be found in a research article published detailing a cross-cultural study of insect consumption between families in Portugal and Norway. In a study conducted by José Carlos Ribeiro and colleagues for the journal Food Quality and Preference, researchers examined the acceptability of insects of food and feed through an online based survey. The researchers sent out questionnaires to participants asking questions on 9 criteria on a 7 point anchor scale: food choice motives, food neophobia, familiarity and experience with edible insects, perceived acceptance of edible insects and sushi, disgust towards insects, and sociodemographic characteristics. Based on these, the researchers compiled the data into tables, and then compared the data found between the two countries. 

Table 3 from Ribeiro et al. (2022). Data representing the acceptance of insects as food in Portugal and Norway [2] (Click on table for higher quality view)

The researchers found that Norwegian consumers had a higher rate of acceptance of insects as food or feed than those from Portugal. These results also showed that individuals could be divided into four levels of acceptance: disgusted, rejector, feed acceptors, and acceptors. These levels of acceptance help us to understand the extent to which certain participants accepted entomophagy, which reveal that the acceptance of eating insects is more complex than the researchers originally thought. Therefore, the researchers gathered that when considering the determinants of acceptance or rejection, participants’ disgust had the largest impact on entomophagy for both Norway and Portugal. 

Fig. 1 from Ribeiro et al. (2022). Probability of accepting insects as food based on disgust towards insects [3] 

In conclusion, the results from the study show the importance of decreasing levels of disgust towards edible insects. The results also suggest that entomophagy be marketed more broadly to insect consuming enthusiasts. Changes to consumers’ perception of eating insects can be achieved through the promotion of sensory experiences and the popularization of the benefits of entomophagy. This is important because many cultures embrace the practice of eating insects. 

Therefore, altering the way in which entomophagy is promoted will enhance the experience for certain cultures, while also gaining popularity in western cultures.

Further Reading:

• Kremen, C., & Chaplin-Kramer, R. (2007, June). Insects as providers of ecosystem services: crop pollination and pest control. In Insect conservation biology: proceedings of the royal entomological society’s 23rd symposium (pp. 349-382). Wallingford, UK: CABI Publishing. DOI: 10.1079/9781845932541.0349

• Ribeiro, J. C., Gonçalves, A. T. S., Moura, A. P., Varela, P., & Cunha, L. M. (2022). Insects as food and feed in Portugal and Norway–cross-cultural comparison of determinants of acceptance. Food Quality and Preference, 102, 104650. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0950329322001252 

• University of Minnesota. (2022, September 8). Let’s just eat the bugs. College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences. https://cfans.umn.edu/news/eat-bugs

Media Credits:

[1] Photo by Duncan McHugh/LFS Learning Centre is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 

[2] “Table 3” by Ribeiro et al. is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0950329322001252#s0160

[3] “Fig. 1” by Ribeiro et al. is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0950329322001252#s0160

Attitudes Towards Insects in Food: Bug Brownies, Bite or Blegh?

 By Alyssa Colpitts, Rebecca Holm, Jenny Neff

[1]

My little brother loves the idea of eating suckers with crickets inside of them, along with insects inside of candy in general. Anytime we have gone to a place that sold them, he has asked if he can get one. Every time I think about it, I shudder because I am not the biggest fan of seeing bugs, let alone eating them. But then I think about how there are some nutritional benefits to it, which leads me to wonder: are insects beneficial enough for us to actually add them into our diets? Should we try to get more people to eat them?

Cricket powder and other insect-based ingredients are starting to become more popular in Western culture as people look for alternate ways to produce protein without taking up large tracts of land or causing environmental problems. Other sources of protein farming– most significantly cattle ranching– use up a large amount of land, water, and food and produce a high amount of waste, including methane gas. Farming insects such as crickets, mealworms, and beetles utilizes vastly fewer resources to produce the same amount of protein. Bug farming is a quickly growing industry. However, many companies, such as Ynsect in France, have faced huge opposition from a population that generally loves their meat and dairy and is not ready to give it up yet. This article provides interesting insight into the benefits of insect farming and how it has been received poorly by the general public in France.

[2]

 The most common form of bug ingredient, cricket flour, cringe-worthy as it may sound, has already made it into a variety of products, sold both online and in stores. Insects have even invaded the chip aisle! So what’s with all the bug food? Briefly put, insects can be just as valuable a food source to us as other species, if not more so. Insects make up an enormous proportion of the species on earth, making them a sustainable choice for our lifestyles in the long run. Thus, the future of food may very well look a little different. With insect products playing a larger role in our diets, meat could very well take a backseat. However far off that time may be, it is important to begin shaping the attitudes of people toward that future beginning today. After all, it will not be easy to change the public perception from creepy to tasty.

“University Student Perspectives of Entomophagy: Positive Attitudes Lead to Observability and Education Opportunities” brings up a big question: how can we change the attitudes of people towards entomophagy–that is, the practice of eating insects as a staple of one’s diet? In the study, Matthew Petersen and his colleagues prove that with a bit of further education, we can accomplish this! I believe the authors intended for us to take away from the article that frequent exposure to entomophagy fosters a more accepting and positive attitude toward it. This message is an interesting one because it allows us to connect with other cultures who practice entomophagy in their daily lives.

  

[3]

The researchers tested just how true the theory “college students will eat anything” is. Through a campus survey and a course survey, nearly 100 students were asked to taste two brownies, one with cricket powder flour and one without. Students in a biology course (course level) and campus-wide (campus level)  took a survey describing their familiarity with and attitude toward entomophagy and guessed which brownie had the cricket powder. Those who were part of the campus survey also listened to a short presentation about eating insects before tasting the brownies and answering the questions. The course survey participants were presented with the brownies in an Insect Biology class but were not given an overview of entomophagy beforehand.

[4] Table from Petersen et al. (2020)

The results from these two surveys are quite surprising. For the campus survey, 69 people preferred the brownies with cricket flour while 4 people preferred the traditional brownies, whereas 29 people in the course survey preferred the cricket brownies while 19 people preferred the regular brownies. Participants in both surveys were asked to guess which brownie they thought contained crickets. In the course survey, 34 people guessed correctly while in the campus survey, only 18 people guessed correctly. At the end of the survey period, students in both sections were asked how likely they were to eat insect products in the future, and many of them said they were “extremely likely.”

[5] Figure from Petersen et al. (2020)

Additionally, students were asked how likely they were to purchase insect products based on taste, environmental concern, and nutritional value (shown as light gray, black, and dark gray in Figure 5, respectively). As the graph reveals, concern regarding the environment was the most influential contributing factor to the likelihood that students would purchase cricket powder and similar products in the future.

So, what does this mean for us? Should we run to the store in search of cricket flour? For those looking for an experimental change in tastes, sure! On the whole, though, the study reveals that, when we are confronted with insect products in our food, we can seldom differentiate them from the product with which we are already familiar. Beyond that, repeated interaction with entomophagy can lead us to a more positive outlook on the practice as a whole. As revealed in the research, students who already had prior experience with ingesting insects were more willing. Further, after learning about the sustainability of the practice, the attitude shift was by and large positive. This message is an interesting one to contrast with the initial reaction we might have had to the practice of entomophagy. Rather than being disgusted or fearful, these researchers found that students were more than receptive to at least trying the brownies, some even going so far as to say they might seek the experience out again. Not to mention, America is not the first country to indulge in insects as a food source. There are cultures and practices all over the world known for eating insects, and in many places it is not only normal, but a valuable source of nutrition.

That being said, no one is forcing you to add crickets to your cookies this holiday season. However, it is interesting to see the changing attitudes surrounding insects as a sustainable food source in the United States. While presumably not any time soon, there could very well come a time when insects serve as a predominant source of protein, becoming valuable to our health in a way we cannot comprehend yet. The best way we can prepare for that future is to start thinking about it now. The sooner we realize that our creepy crawly friends could very well become precious to our health, the sooner we will be ready for a greener future.

So, the next time you see that scary, buggy corner in the candy shop, maybe you will think twice before wrinkling your nose up. Thanks to Petersen and his colleagues, we might be one step closer to a brand new attitude towards bugs.

 

Further Reading:

Petersen, M., Olson, O., Rao, S. (2020) University Student Perspectives of Entomophagy: Positive Attitudes Lead to Observability and Education Opportunities. Journal of Insect Science. 20(5). https://academic.oup.com/jinsectscience/article/20/5/30/5937574 License: CC BY 4.0 DEED

7 countries that eat insects for food | terminix. (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2023, from https://www.terminix.com/blog/whats-buzzing/7-countries-where-insects-mean-a-great-meal/

Pells, R. (2023). How France became the unlikely home of the insect-farming industry. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-00290-z

 

Media Credits:

[1] "Scorpion lollipop" by ewen and donabel is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

[2] "Eat Bugs? [DSC_0002]" by trekkyandy is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

[3] "brownies...yawn...boooring" by jeffreyw is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

[4] and [5] https://doi.org/10.1093/jisesa/ieaa120