FAO estimates that the world needs to increase its food production by 70 percent by 2050 in order to serve a global population of nine billion. Animal feed production is increasingly competing for resources (land, water and fertilizer) with human food and fuel production, urbanization and nature. Seventy percent of the world’s agricultural land is already directly or indirectly dedicated to meat production. With a growing world population and increasingly demanding consumers, can we still produce sufficient animal protein in the future? Urgently we need to identify alternative protein sources, and insects have great potential in contributing to global food security.
Specifically we would like to:
- Get an overview of the current status of insects as food and feed.
- Identify constraints in the development of insect food/feed sector (e.g. legislation).
- Promote interactions among stakeholders in the insect value chain.
- Formulate recommendations to increase the impact of using insects as a food and feed source.
- Contribute to standardizing methodologies for analysing nutritional composition of insects.
- Promote gathering (inter)national data on the production and trade of edible insects.
- Establish (inter)disciplinary networks among relevant partners.
- Create global awareness of this neglected food & feed source.