to the average american, insects are, at the most, a harmless annoyance \u2014 like mosquitoes. at their worst, they\u2019re dangerous \u2014 like lyme disease-carrying deer ticks.<\/p>\n
but one project through the global health institute demonstrates that insects can be so much more \u2014 like a sustainable protein alternative. entomophagy, the scientific term for eating insects, is becoming a growing trend \u2014 one inciting significant research at uw.<\/p>\n
postdoctoral environmental health scientist valerie stull directs the mission to improve global health through insects, an initiative that examines the myriad of implications that might come with eating and farming insects \u2014 either for human or livestock consumption.<\/p>\n
stull said mighti uses an interdisciplinary lens to analyze the social, environmental and public health-related effects these practices could have.<\/p>\n
\u201cwe are assessing the impacts of insect farming on people\u2019s livelihoods, health and agroecosystems,\u201d stull said.<\/p>\n
stull\u2019s research happens both here and abroad \u2014 stull said her team works with communities where entomophagy is already commonplace to study its impacts on public health and environment. they try to determine if these communities that eat insects may also be interested in farming them, and what effects that could have. the locations of these communities range from zambia, south africa, uganda and guatemala.<\/p>\n
but why eat insects? to americans who have never heard of entomophagy, the practice could seem unappealing. stull, however, disagrees.<\/p>\n
\u201cedible insects are fascinating because while humans have consumed insects throughout history, and about two billion people around the globe regularly consume them now, research on the subject is relatively new,\u201d stull said. \u201cthey are under-explored and underutilized on a global scale.\u201d<\/p>\n
director of the global health institute jonathan patz works through the institute to support stull\u2019s project, along with uw entomology and the nelson institute for environmental sciences.<\/p>\n
patz described some of the environmental benefits entomophagy could have on communities. because insects are rich in high-quality protein and demand only modest resources like food, water, land and energy to rear, they may prove a sustainable alternative to other meat industries.<\/p>\n
patz, however, described certain challenges to implementing insect consumption in areas where entomophagy isn\u2019t a cultural commonplace.<\/p>\n
\u201cthe biggest hurdles that still remain are cultural norms in places unaccustomed to eating insects \u2014 like in the u.s.,\u201d patz said. \u201cmore research is still needed in address food safety issues, and our feeding studies are aimed to provide an answer in this area.\u201d<\/p>\n
stull also cited cultural barriers as potential hindrances to spreading entomophagy.<\/p>\n
stull described overcoming these as a process toward cultural competency and communication \u2014 one that while difficult, also proves rewarding. it\u2019s important to modify the narrative that insects are not food and share knowledge with groups both locally and globally, she said.<\/p>\n
moving forward, stull plans to continue coordinating the logistics of efficient insect farming. one of her goals is to potentially rear insects to feed livestock in wisconsin.<\/p>\n
her team is currently researching the \u201cbioavailability of micronutrients found in insects\u201d \u2014 essentially the potential nutritional value of insects \u2014 in hopes of moving this and other endeavors forwards.<\/p>\n
\u201cwe plan to continue to investigate the social, environmental and health implications of insect agriculture broadly,\u201d stull said.<\/p>\n
patz said mighti aims to have an effect on lower-income countries first to more efficiently enhance nutrition, and stull outlined some of their goals in these countries and regions. stull said mighti hopes to provide user-friendly insect farming kits and training materials to farmers to test the impacts insect farming could have on health and nutrition at the household scale.<\/p>\n
stull\u2019s team published several studies on the holistic effects of entomophagy in communities. one study focused on the effect of cooperation between industry, government and academia can have when attempting to implement edible insects. another focused specifically on a case study in zambia, and the most recent study took a microscopic approach by examining the effects of cricket consumption on the human gut.<\/p>\n
\u201ci hope my research will have a global impact,\u201d stull said. \u201csimply changing the narrative about insects as food is an important piece of the puzzle.\u201d
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