Wouldn’t hurt a fly? A review of insect cognition and sentience in relation to their use as food and feed

Lambert, Helen; Elwin, Angie; D’Cruze, Neil

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2021.105432

Cited by 47 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Insects are not suitable for human consumption" and D2.4 "Insects are associated with taboos and food neophobia". In fact, these perceptions can be highly variable according to the cultural environment of the respondents [57,58]. The perception that they are not suitable for human consumption is a problem identified in many studies, and their safety has been an object of concern [59].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of a Questionnaire to Assess Knowledge and Perceptions about Edible Insects

Guiné

Florença

Costa

et al. 2021

Insects

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Edible insects (EI) have been consumed as traditional foods in many parts of the globe, but in other regions, they are not readily accepted, particularly in Western countries. However, because EI are suggested to constitute a more sustainable protein food as compared with other sources of animal protein, they can be considered a future food that could help mitigate hunger and malnutrition. Additionally, new gastronomic trends are already targeting this area for exploring new potentialities. The objective of this work was to develop and validate a questionnaire to assess consumers’ perceptions and knowledge about EI in seven different domains: D1. Culture and Tradition, D2. Gastronomic Innovation and Gourmet Kitchen, D3. Environment and Sustainability, D4. Economic and Social Aspects, D5. Commercialization and Marketing, D6. Nutritional Aspects and D7. Health Effects. The 64 items were subjected to item analysis and reliability analysis for validation, and factor analysis was also conducted to identify a grouping structure. The results validated all the items of the seven subscales with high values of Cronbach’s alpha (α = 0.732 for D1, α = 0.795 for D2, α = 0.882 for D3, α = 0.742 for D4, α = 0.675 for D5, α = 0.799 for D6 and α = 0.788 for D7). However, by eliminating 17 items, the final values of the alpha increased in all subscales. Factor analysis with extraction by principal component analysis with varimax rotation extracted 14 factors that explained, in total, 65% of the variance, although the first two factors were the most important (35.7% variance explained). In conclusion, the confirmed usefulness of the questionnaire has been hereby validated for assessing consumer perceptions of and knowledge about EI.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of a Questionnaire to Assess Knowledge and Perceptions about Edible Insects

Guiné

Florença

Costa

et al. 2021

Insects

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“…Animals that have such states are sentient. The question of whether insects are sentient is far from resolved (for discussion, see Adamo, 2016;Barron and Klein, 2016;Birch, 2020;Lambert et al, 2021) and beyond the scope of this paper. Here, we employ a precautionary principle: since insects may be sentient, we should treat them as though they are sentient (Birch, 2017;Mikhalevich and Powell, 2020;Van Huis, 2021).…”

Section: Insect Welfare Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Welfare considerations for farming black soldier flies, Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae): a model for the insects as food and feed industry

Barrett

Chia

Fischer

et al. 2022

JIFF

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Over two hundred billion black soldier flies (BSF, Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae)) are reared annually across the globe, with the industry projected to grow substantially in the coming decade. Black soldier flies are being actively explored across the globe for use as livestock feed; fishmeal replacements; biodiesel; human, animal, and food waste management; and even sustainable human protein. Despite the huge number of individual insects reared and interest in BSF welfare by numerous producers and academics, there is no paper that considers the species-specific welfare of BSF in farmed conditions. We review factors that relate to BSF welfare in commercial rearing facilities, including: diseases/parasites, abiotic conditions (temperature, humidity/moisture, substrate aeration, light, pupation substrates, and adult spatial needs), adult and larval nutritional considerations, injury and crowding, handling-associated stress, selective breeding and genetic modification, environmental contaminants, and slaughter methods. We conclude with a discussion of the most pressing welfare concerns for the industry, recommendations for altering the conditions that give rise to them, and suggestions for future research directions that would lend valuable insights to BSF welfare. While this summary is BSF-centric, the core topic of animal welfare applies to all insect models currently, or in the future, produced as food and feed.

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“…[113] While the rearing conditions imposed on larvae certainly mimic their natural environment, creating wingless flies, much less so. This is certainly bound to be a contentious topic in coming years, as the field of insect cognition has begun to reveal that many insects display more complex sensory processes than previously thought, [113][114][115] and will add to the growing conversation concerning insect welfare and welfare-minded practices. [116] Without diminishing the importance of these achievements, realized or soon-to-be, considerable roadblocks remain.…”

Section: Industrial Outlookmentioning

confidence: 99%

No neonates without adults

2022

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With the potential to process the world's agricultural and food waste, provide sustainable fodder for livestock, aquaculture, and pet animals, as well as act as a source of novel biomolecules, the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens, has been launched into the leading position within the insects as feed industry. Fulfilment of these goals, however, requires mass-rearing facilities to have a steady supply of neonate larvae, which inturn requires an efficient mating process to yield fertile eggs; yet, little is known about adult reproductive behavior, nor what physiological factors lead to its emergence. Moreover, fertile egg production tends to be highly variable in colony. Therefore, this review brings together what is currently known of the organismal biology of H. illucens, compiling information on adult morphology, physiology, biogeography, genomics, and behavioral ecology. As a holistic synthesis, it highlights several directions of interest for research to follow.

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Wouldn’t hurt a fly? A review of insect cognition and sentience in relation to their use as food and feed

Cited by 47 publications

References 38 publications

Development of a Questionnaire to Assess Knowledge and Perceptions about Edible Insects

Development of a Questionnaire to Assess Knowledge and Perceptions about Edible Insects

Welfare considerations for farming black soldier flies, Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae): a model for the insects as food and feed industry

No neonates without adults

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