Insects’ Production, Consumption, Policy, and Sustainability: What Have We Learned from the Indigenous Knowledge Systems?

Abstract

Edible insects can be produced sustainably, with less environmental impact than other forms of livestock. Globally, over 2000 edible insect species have been reported and are regarded as a great source of nutrition, both as food and feed. Over the years, rural people have used indigenous knowledge to either store or process such insects. However, such valuable knowledge, if not properly recorded and documented, can easily be lost. Thus, there is a need to strike a balance between the use of indigenous and scientific knowledge to produce and process these delicacies. In addition, such indigenous knowledge is vital for preserving biodiversity, since insects are good indicators of climate change as it influences their development, reproduction, and survival. Therefore, successful and sustainable solutions may lie in bringing back indigenous knowledge systems.

The Role of Edible Insects in Rural Livelihoods, and Identified Challenges in Vhembe District, Limpopo, South Africa

“…The lack of clear legislation and regulatory guidelines governing trading and insect use as food in South Africa might be the primary barrier that prevents local authorities from including edible insects in rural economic development plans [44]. In addition, the lack of legislation and regulatory guidelines that recognise and govern the edible insect sector as part of agricultural activity is concerning [49]. There are no clear guidelines on the use of insects as food in South Africa.…”

Yellow Mealworm and Black Soldier Fly Larvae for Feed and Food Production in Europe, with Emphasis on Iceland

“…Edible insects have been shown to have nutritional, ecological and economic advantages, and increased insect farming is considered to promote increased food security across the world. Insect products are also considered to be beneficial for the health and welfare of livestock and they could lead to reduced antibiotic use in livestock production [25].…”

“…They are high in amino acids and monosatured fatty acids, which meets the requirements of humans. Besides being high in nutrients, edible insects are also rich in certain vitamins and minerals [25] and have a high content of fiber compared to livestock, as seen in Table 1 [26,27]. It has also been reported that insect protein has as many nutritional benefits as milk proteins [28] and that edible insects might decrease cholesterol levels in humans by 60% [29].…”

“…Edible insects have less of a negative effect on the environment than other livestock forms. Insect farming produces less greenhouse gas than livestock [25,55] and uses less land and water [25], as seen in Table 2. Moreover, insects are often considered to be environmentally friendly because their farming may have a low feed conversion ratio (FCR); however, this varies between insect species and the feed.…”

“…A study by Smetana et al [58] showed that the production of 1 kg of BSF larvae resulted in less land use, less CO 2 production and less water use than the production of both soybean meal and fishmeal. Fishmeal is produced through the overexploitation of fish in the oceans [14,25], as 20% of all wild caught fish are used for fishmeal [14]. Additionally, studies have shown that feeding chickens [59] and aquaculture [60] with mealworms can reduce these species' FCR.…”