Insects as Food:

Positive Aspects

Thomas Weigel

Applied Research Manager Edible Insects

Lao PDR

Email: thomasweigel@gmx.de

Phone: +856 20 28 221 097

Short course & Workshop on Insects and Food

and Feed

November, 2016

Kasetsart University, Bangkok

Outline 1. Context of the Presentation

2. Some facts about edible insects

3. Insects: A valuable source of food

4. Edible insect production: A sustainable livelihoods

activity

5. Conclusions

I. Context of the Presentation

What are current and future challenges with regard to

food security?

How do edible insects fit into this?

Undernutrition & Poverty 795 million people undernourished

worldwide (2014-16)

„Business-as-usual“ forecast: 2030: 650 million people suffer from hunger

2015 poverty projections: 700 million living in extreme poverty ($1.90/day)

Southeast Asia: 26% - 0.6% below National Poverty Line

Prevalence of Undernourishment in Southeast

Asia 2014-16 (estimates) No. (millions) Proportion (%)

Southeast Asia 60.5 9.6

Brunei

Darussalam

n.s. <5

Cambodia 2.2 14.2

Indonesia 19.4 7.6

Laos 1.3 18.5

Malaysia n.s. <5

Myanmar 7.7 14.2

Philippines 13.7 13.5

Thailand 5.0 7.4

Timor-Leste 0.3 26.9

Vietnam 10.3 11.0

Source: FAO, IFAD & WFP, 2015

Source: ADB, 2016

2013

Demographic Trends & Global Food Demand 1. 2015: 7.3 – 2050: 9.7 – 2100: 11.2 billion

2. Urbanization: 2014: 54% urban – 2050: 66%

3. Increasing wealth & purchasing power

Increase in food production to meet food demand

Increased demand for animal-based protein

Challenges for Agricultural Food Production Transformation of agriculture

1. Decrease of agricultural share in GDP & people active in

agriculture

2. Aging farmers

3. Declining performance of agriculture

Challenges for conventional agriculture

Human food production vs. animal feed & biofuel

Land conversion

Degradation of natural resources – soil & water

Climate change

Source: Fan, 2011 in Desker, Caballero-

Anthony & Teng, 2013

Source: FAO, 2011 in Desker,

Caballero-Anthony & Teng, 2013

How do edible insects fit into this context? Edible insects = under-utilized &

under-appreciated food

Increased consumption & production can contribute to...

Improve current/future food & nutrition security

Reduce poverty with insect farming as a sustainable & inclusive livelihoods activity

Make global food system more sustainable

Increased recognition of potential by scientific/development community

Increased business activities worldwide & collaborative platforms for research & industry

II. Some facts about insects

1. What is the scale of insect consumption & where are they

mostly eaten?

2. What are common species consumed & traded in Thailand

and Laos?

3. How about Europe & North America?

Eating Insects – World wide Traditional food for 2 billion people - 100

countries (mainly Asia & Pacific, Africa, Latin

America)

Globally: 1,900 edible insect species;

Thailand: 200 species

>90% of children & adults in Laos eat insects

Thailand Commonly

sold/consumed:

a. Grasshoppers

b. Bamboo caterpillars

c. Crickets

d. Weaver ants

e. Silk worm pupae

f. Water scavanger beetles

Commonly farmed as food:

a. Common/field cricket (North/Northeast)

b. House cricket (North/Northeast)

c. Palm weevil larvae (South)

Source: Hanboonsong, Jamjanya & Durst, 2013

Laos: Insect Trading at Dong Maakhai Market Most insects collected in

wild – very few cricket farms

Insects expensive – mostly bought by more wealthy people

Poor people: collect & eat

Laos: Insects at Dongmakkhai market

Stinkbugs Water scavangers Bamboo worms Mole cricket

Weaver ant pupae Grasshoppers Grasshopper (big) Beetles

Source: Veterinarians without Borders -

Canada

Laos: Sales of Insects at Restaurant

Source: Veterinarians without Borders -

Canada

Europe & North America

Insects not common food, but..

in Italy, Croatia & Germany: cheese with insects!

Growing niche market: insects in specialized restaurants, insect snacks & insect-based products

III. Insects: A valuable source of food

1. Why are insects a good source of food?

2. What are potential positive impacts of eating insects &

what applications are thinkable?

3. Insects and culture: what is the connection?

4. Preparing insects as popular snack: short instructional

video from Laos

Insects: A Food of Choice

Myth: Insects = Emergency food for poor

Fact: Many people love eating insects!

Part of traditonal diets for long time

People choose insects according to own taste

preferences

Sometimes willing to pay high prices (Laos: 1kg

of weaver ant larvae = >100,000LAK = >430 THB

= >12 USD)

Western countries: small, but growing number

of people started to eat insects/insect-based

products

Source: Veterinarians without Borders -

Canada

Insects: Highly Nutritious

Comparable to or exceeding nutritional values of conventional livestock/fish

Crude protein: 13 - 77% of dry matter

Crude fat: <5% - >50% of dry matter

Good source of minerals (e.g. iron, zinc, copper) & vitamins (e.g vitamin B2, vitamin E)

Source: Hanboonsong &

Durst, 2014

Potential impacts & applications

Contribute to healthy diets & improve malnutrition (protein-energy deficiencies & „hidden hunger“)

Improve nutritional value of traditional foods (e.g. Chili paste, soup)

Micronutrient-rich foods for complementary feeding of infants/young children (e.g. WinFood cereals)

Food fortification – e.g. Instant noodles

Emergency food (disaster) – quickly available

Alternative source of animal-based protein – respond to growing global demand

Source: Veterinarians without Borders -

Canada

Edible Insects: Part of traditional culture

Traditional foods increasingly replaced by

modern Western-style foods/highly processed

foods – often negative health impacts (obesity,

non-communicable diseases)

Reasons: Modernization, urbanization &

supermarketization & change in attitudes

(traditional = outfashioned/backwards;

modern = progessive/hip/high social status)

Tradition of eating insects may be at risk =

loss of one part of traditional culture

Promotion of insect consumption & production

= revitalisation of traditional culture =

positive effects on livelihoods

Video: Women in Laos frying crickets

(workshop)

Source: Veterinarians without Borders -

Canada

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWU-qEB1QFU

IV. Edible Insect Production: A

Sustainable Livelihoods Activity

1. What is the scale of insect farming (crickets) in Thailand?

2. Case study from cricket farming village in Khon Kaen

3. What makes insect farming economically, socially, and

environmentally sustainable?

Insect Value Chain: Income & Employment

Generation

Insect production, processing,

transport & marketing =

generates income &

employment along the value-

chain

In Thailand: multi-million dollar

sector involving 10,000s of Thai

people

20,000 registered cricket farms

In Laos: not widespread yet

Phrae, Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Nan

Khon Kaen, Roi Et,

Udon Thanin, Kalasin

Chanthaburi, Sakaew

Source: Pongsapitch,

2016

Cricket Production

Santor Village, Namphong District, Khon Kaen

Santor Village Profile

Nr. Of Households: 98

Cricket farming households: 65

Production volume: 70,000kg/year

Production value: 7 million THB/year

Main distribution markets: Khon

Kaen, Udorn Thani, Karasin, Chiang

Mai, Lamphun

Processed products: cricket chilli

paste, rice crackers

Source: AOPDC Khon Kaen

Source: Veterinarians without Borders - Canada

Insect Farming: Economic sustainability Low capital input (depending on

scale)

Frequent income within short time

Large/medium-scale: Primary source of

income

Medium-scale: Significant addition source

of income

Small-scale: some additional income

Potential for value-added products

Can contribute to household savings

New economic opportunities: export

to EU as novel food/food with history

of consumption

Source: Veterinarians without Borders Canada

Insect Farming: Economic sustainability ctd. Statement of Thai cricket farmer:

“I have known about cricket farming

for many years, but I only recently

decided to start. It is an additional

occupation to get more income. I

cannot live only from rice farming. I

saw many customers coming to the

village to buy and saw that [my

neighbours] were getting a good

price.”

(Cited: Halloran, Roos & Hanboonsong,

2016)

Source: Halloran, Roos & Hanboonsong, 2016

Insect farming: Social sustainability Culturally accepted: crickets already part of

traditional diets

Inclusive activity, suitable for vulnerable

segments of society:

Poorer people (low capital investment, quick

returns)

Landless people (Low space requirement)

Elderly, women, people with disabilities:

Low time investment/easy work

Allows farmers to spend more time with family, take

care of other duties & livelihoods activities

Suitable for rural & urban areas (depending on scale)

Source: Veterinarians without Borders Canada

Insect farming: Social sustainability ctd.

According to study, cricket farming has

significant social impact on rural

communities in Thailand:

Allows to bring family members home

(worked abroad or in rural areas)

Enables elderly to feel more

independent – not have to rely on

monetary support from children

Enabled households to send children to

university, pay off debt, save money

Source: Veterinarians without Borders Canada

Insect farming: Environmental sustainability 1. Insects have a high feed conversion – for 1kg of

weight gain:

Crickets: 1.7kg feed

Chicken: 2.5kg feed

Pork: 5kg feed

Cattle: 10kg feed

2. 80% of crickets edible & digestible vs. 55% for

chicken/pigs & 40% for cattle

Crickets: 2 times more efficient in converting

feed than chicken, 4 times more than pigs, 12

times more than cattle

Source: Huis et al., 2013

Environmental sustainability ctd.

Insects produce significantly less GHG &

ammonia than conventional livestock

Very low contributions to climate change

& natural resource degradation (e.g.

nitrification/acidification of soil,

pollution of water)

Significantly less water use than conventional

livestock:

No further stress on water resources

Suitable for raising in drought-prone areas

Low trigger for land conversion – only small

space requirements

Protection of wild insect populations

Source: Huis et al., 2013

V. Conclusions Edible insects:

Traditional food & part of culture

A valuable & healthy source of food: rich in protein & micronutrients

Insect farming is an economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable livelihoods activity

Farmed insects = sustainable diets

“Sustainable diets are those diets with low environmental impacts which contribute to food and nutrition security and to healthy life for present and future generations. Sustainable diets are protective and respectful of biodiversity and ecosystems, culturally acceptable, accessible, economically fair and affordable; nutritional adequate, safe and healthy; while optimizing natural and human resources” (FAO 2010).

Thomas Weigel

Email: thomasweigel@gmx.de

Phone: +856 20 28 221 097

Thank you for your attention!

Any Questions?

The cricket farming project in Laos given reference to in this

presentation was carried out by Veterinarians without Borders –

Canada in cooperation with partners and with the aid of a grant from

Global Affairs Canada.

Literature

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EFSA. 2015. Risk profile related to the production and consumption of insects as food and feed. EFSA Journal. doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2015.4257

FAO. 2010. Food-based dietary guidelines. Website. http://www.fao.org/nutrition/education/food-dietary-guidelines/background/sustainable-dietary-guidelines/en/

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