FOREWARD: In this fast-paced modern world, it is sometimes easy to lose sight of valuable traditional knowledge and practices. There is a tendency to think of traditional habits and customs as outdated or primitive. Yet, experience across numerous fields has highlighted the value and benefits to be gained from combining customary knowledge and approaches with modern science and understanding.

Such is the case with edible forest insects. The practice of eating insects goes back thousands of years and has been documented in nearly every part of the world. In modern times, however, consumption of insects has declined in many societies and is sometimes ridiculed as old-fashioned and unhealthy. Yet, it would be prudent to carefully consider the value of customary knowledge before discarding it too readily. Scientific analysis confirms, for example, the exceptional nutritional benefits of many forest insects, and studies point to the potential to produce insects for food with far fewer negative environmental impacts than for many mainstream foods consumed today.

Aside from their nutritional and environmental benefits, experts see considerable opportunity for edible insects to provide income and jobs for rural people who capture, rear, process, transport and market insects as food. These prospects can be enhanced through promotion and adoption of modern food technology standards to ensure that the insects are safe and attractive for human consumption.

Traditionally, most edible insects have been harvested from natural forests, but surprisingly little is known about the life cycles, population dynamics, commercial and management potential of most edible forest insects. Among forest managers, knowledge and appreciation of how to manage and harvest insects sustainably is limited. On the other hand, traditional forest dwellers and forest-dependent people often possess remarkable knowledge of the insects and their management, offering excellent opportunities for modern science and traditional knowledge to work together.

In an effort to more fully explore the various facets of edible forest insects, the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific organized an international workshop, entitled “Forest Insects as Food: Humans Bite Back” in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in February 2008. The workshop brought together many of the world’s foremost experts on entomophagy – the practice of eating insects. Specialists in the three-day workshop focused specifically on the science management, collection, harvest, processing, marketing and consumption of edible forest insects, as well as their potential to be reared commercially by local farmers.

It is hoped that this publication, containing the edited proceedings of the Chiang Mai workshop, will help to raise awareness of the potential of edible forest insects as a food source, document the contribution of edible insects to rural livelihoods and highlight linkages to sustainable forest management and conservation.

Abstract Animal products, i.e. meat, milk and eggs, provide an important component in global diets, but livestock dominate agricultural land use by area and are a major source of greenhouse gases. Cultural and personal associations with animal product consumption create barriers to moderating consumption, and hence reduced environmental impacts. Here we review alternatives to conventional animal products, including cultured meat, imitation meat and insects (i.e. entomophagy), and explore the potential change in global agricultural land requirements associated with each alternative. Stylised transformative consumption scenarios where half of current conventional animal products are substituted to provide at least equal protein and calories are considered. The analysis also considers and compares the agricultural land area given shifts between conventional animal product consumption. The results suggest that imitation meat and insects have the highest land use efficiency, but the land use requirements are only slightly greater for eggs and poultry meat. The efficiency of insects and their ability to convert agricultural by-products and food waste into food, suggests further research into insect production is warranted. Cultured meat does not appear to offer substantial benefits over poultry meat or eggs, with similar conversion efficiency, but higher direct energy requirements. Comparison with the land use savings from reduced consumer waste, including over-consumption, suggests greater benefits could be achieved from alternative dietary transformations considered. We conclude that although a diet with lower rates of animal product consumption is likely to create the greatest reduction in agricultural land, a mix of smaller changes in consumer behaviour, such as replacing beef with chicken, reducing food waste and potentially introducing insects more commonly into diets, would also achieve land savings and a more sustainable food system.

Abstract Entomophagy, the consumption of insects, is promoted as an alternative sustainable source of protein for humans and animals. Seminal literature highlights predominantly the benefits, but with limited empirical support and evaluation. We highlight the historical significance of entomophagy by humans and key opportunities and hurdles identified by research to date, paying particular attention to research gaps. It is known that insects present a nutritional opportunity, being generally high in protein and key micronutrients, but it is unclear how their nutritional quality is influenced by what they are fed. Research indicates that, in ideal conditions, insects have a smaller environmental impact than more traditional Western forms of animal protein; less known is how to scale up insect production while maintaining these environmental benefits. Studies overall show that insects could make valuable economic and nutritional contributions to the food or feed systems, but there are no clear regulations in place to bring insects into such supply systems. Future research needs to examine how the nutritional value of insects can be managed systematically, establish clear processing and storage methodology, define rearing practices and implement regulations with regard to food and feed safety. Each of these aspects should be considered within the specifics of concrete supply and value chains, depending on whether insects are intended for food or for feed, to ensure insects are a sound economic, nutritional and sustainable protein alternative – not just a more expensive version of poultry for food, or soya for feed.