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https://www.positive.news/society/as-singapore-approves-16-types-of-insects-as-food-for-humans-theres-a-growing-buzz-around-the-sector/>
"Grub’s up in Singapore where authorities have designated 16 creepy crawlies as
safe for human consumption.
Locusts, five types of beetle grub and even a species of honeybee are among the
minibeasts deemed good enough to eat, after a decision in July. The Singapore
Food Agency has also greenlit imports of pasta, chocolate bars and crackers
that contain insects as ingredients. One restaurant – House of Seafood – has
added 30 insect dishes to its menu, ranging from sushi topped with silkworms to
squid ink pasta sprinkled with house crickets.
“It’s good news,” says Nick Rousseau, founder of the UK Edible Insect
Association. “Insects are amazing. We’re constantly looking to see how other
countries are progressing in opening up the market for these potentially very
valuable sources of nutrition, and that then gives us encouragement to think
the UK might follow suit one day.”
Planet-friendly insect protein has long been touted as a sustainable
alternative to western staples such as beef and chicken, and an answer to the
growing conundrum of ensuring food security.
Producing a kilo of insect protein emits 1,800 times less greenhouse gases than
beef and 700 times less than pork – but requires a fraction of the feedstock.
Insects are also highly edible: around 80% of their bodyweight can be scoffed,
compared to 55% for chicken and pork, and just 40% for cattle.
“Insect protein is very similar to animal protein in that it has all the amino
acids, lots of antioxidants, lots of micronutrients, and is a better source of
nutrition than a lot of plant-based protein,” says Rousseau.
“But insects can also be fed on waste, they have a much smaller environmental
footprint, so they don’t use as nearly as much water or land, and they don’t
emit methane in the way lots of livestock does.”
One study published earlier this year identified 2,205 insect species – almost
half of them in Asia – that are being eaten across 128 countries worldwide.
Meanwhile the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization is plugging bugs
as a sustainable way to get quality protein in our diets."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
