Global atlas of edible insects is available

East African scientists have produced a global atlas of edible insects, providing analysis of diversity and commonality that can contribute to food systems and sustainability as the planet faces uncertainties caused by population growth and a surge in demand for nutritious food.

The scientists say that edible insects, with their low environmental footprint, high food conversion ratio, rapid growth and nutritional values, can play a vital role in the global food system.

Until now, substantial knowledge gaps persist regarding their diversity global distribution and shared characteristics across regions, potentially impending effective scaling and access to edible insects. This led the scientists from universities in Kenya, South Africa and Uganda to compile and analysis the fragmented database on edible insects. They also identified potential drivers that elucidate global insect consumption, focusing on promoting a sustainable food system.

Data was collected from a variety of sources, including lists of edible insect species from the literature and various research databases. Subsequently, they performed a series of analytics at country, regional and continent levels.

The study revealed some common and specific practices related to edible insect access and utilisation across countries and regions. Although insect consumption is often rooted in cultural practices, it exhibits correlations with land cover, the geographical presence of potentially edible insects, the size of a country’s population and income levels. People living in Africa, Asia and Latin America eat insects as it is part of their culture while increased consciousness and the need for food sustainability are the driving forces in Europe to evaluate eating insects.

The study concluded that edible insects are becoming an increasing significant part of the future of planetary food systems and that more proactive efforts are required to promote them for their effective contribution to achieving sustainable food production.