Educational materials
Edible insects
Future prospects for food and feed security
The FAO book “Edible Insects: Future Prospects for Food and Feed Security” (2013) is a pioneering multidisciplinary work that explores the potential of insects as a sustainable food and feed source. Published in 2013, the book provides extensive scientific research to examine insect gathering and rearing as a viable option for ensuring food security, covering topics from insect ecology and rearing to processing and marketing. The book highlights insect nutritional value, environmental benefits, and potential to address global food challenges by attracting attention from farmers, researchers, policymakers, and the food industry.
Insects as food and feed: from production to consumption
Insects have a high potential of becoming a new sector in the food and feed industry, mainly because of the many environmental benefits when compared to meat production. This will be outlined in the book, as well as the whole process from rearing to marketing.
Insects as Sustainable Food Ingredients
Insects as Sustainable Food Ingredients: Production, Processing and Food Applications describes how insects can be mass produced and incorporated into our food supply at an industrial and cost-effective scale, providing valuable guidance on how to build the insect-based agriculture and the food and biomaterial industry.
Editor: Aaron Dossey
Production and Commercialization of Insects as Food and Feed
Production and Commercialization of Insects as Food and Feed: identification of the Main Constraints in the European Union analyses and discusses the regulatory state-of-the-art for the production and commercialization of insects as food and feed in the European Union.
Authors: Francesco Montanari, Ana Pinto de Moura, Luís Miguel Cunha
Insects as Food and Food Ingredients
Insects as Food and Food Ingredients: Technological Improvements, Sustainability, and Safety Aspects addresses the use of insects as food by following a farm-to-fork approach and covering general aspects concerning farming, processing and the main applications of insects and insect derived ingredients in the food sector.
Editors: Marco Garcia-Vaquero, Carlos Álvarez García
Edible Insects in Sustainable Food Systems
Edible insects in Sustainable Food Systems comprehensively covers the basic principles of entomology and population dynamics; edible insects and culture; nutrition and health; gastronomy; insects as animal feed; factors influencing preferences and acceptability of insects; environmental impacts and conservation; considerations for insect farming and policy and legislation.
Editors: Afton Halloran, Roberto Flore, Paul Vantomme, Nanna Roos
The Basics of Edible Insect Rearing
The book presents information essential for further development of the entire insect chain and contains many practical recommendations for the start/setup of professional insect rearing.
Editors: Teun Veldkamp, J. Claeys, O.L.M. Haenen, J.J.A. van Loon, and T. Spranghers
The Insect Cookbook
In The Insect Cookbook, two entomologists and a chef make the case for insects as a sustainable source of protein for humans and a necessary part of our future diet. They provide consumers and chefs with the essential facts about insects for culinary use, with recipes simple enough to make at home yet boasting the international flair of the world’s most chic dishes.
The contribution of insects to food security, livelihoods and the environment. FAO.
EN | FR | ES | ZH | DE | JA
Since 2003, FAO has been working on topics about edible insects worldwide contributing into following areas: generation and sharing of knowledge; awareness-raising on the role of insects through media collaboration; provision of support to member countries through field projects; networking and multidisciplinary interactions.
Insect farming: a six-legged problem. Eurogroup for Animals
Insect farming in Europe is growing at an alarming rate, with trillions of insects set to be farmed by 2030. However, as it stands, very few policies are in place to control how the booming sector is evolving. This report explores why this must change. Based on the latest data and evidence, it highlights six of the most pressing problems with insect farming in the EU. From animal welfare and food safety to biosecurity concerns, it lays out the risks policy-makers should be aware of, and the measures they must take, to mitigate the industry’s impacts on animals, people, and the planet.
