‘Yuck factor’: eating insects rather than meat to help the planet is failing, study finds | Insects

A new study found that recent efforts to encourage people to eat insects are doomed to failure due to the widespread general disgust of this idea, which makes it unlikely to help people shift from the destructive habit of the environment for meat consumption.

It was agriculture and eating insects a description In recent years as a more green alternative to eating traditional meat because of heavy Environmental losses By raising livestock, a leading driver to remove forests, responsible for more than half of the global water pollution, and may cause more than a third of all greenhouse gases that can be allowed if the world wants to avoid disastrous climate change, and the new research has reached.

Nevertheless, the lighter planetary cost is unlikely to be achieved to multiply and take insects such as cockroaches, locusts and ants.

General polling in the United States and Europe It has been found that although up to 91 % of the respondents will be ready to experience the “alternative meat” based on the plant, only about 20 % will consider eating insects.

In addition to the “Yuck” cultural factor, there are also economic barriers, as the paper was found, where most companies – the exception were some of the startups in the protein bar – that decide to focus on raising species such as the flies of the black soldier of animals, instead of humans, consumption.

“Given these challenges, it is difficult to see how insect -based foods can replace traditional meat options in a large way,” the paper was published, published in the sustainable Nature NPJ.

While many people express the desire to eat sustainable food, a relatively few in Western countries have embraced vegetarian and plant. At the same time, global meat consumption is expected to increase in the coming decades amid the high demand from a new wealthy group in countries like China, which puts additional pressure on the ground, waterways and sewers. climate.

Dustin Chromete, co -author of the study and CEO of Institute of insects. “It turns out that the cultivated insects are constantly registered with the slightest alternatives to meat and the actual market that are incredibly small, even in places that have a tradition in eating insects.”

Chromete said that although some efforts are made to put insects in elements such as snack bars and bread, it does not turn into products that already expel meat consumption.

He said: “All talk about eating insects has not made a big difference. People still have a strong negative reaction to insects and there is no cultural history for that.” “It is difficult to change the long cooking traditions and deep roast reactions from top to bottom. If it is easy, more people will eat vegetable foods.”

A few governments have made any major moves to reduce meat consumption, despite their enormous impact on the environment, for fear of political reaction. However, Denmark presented a possible model for how to do this, A plan revealed in 2023 to reduce meat intake Promoting vegetarian food supply.

“Foods based on the plant are the future,” said Jacob Jinsen, Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries at that time. “If we want to reduce the climate imprint within the agricultural sector, we all must eat more plant foods.”

Chromete said that the Danish plan was a good starting point to formulate an alternative to the hope that people would turn into insects.

He said: “You have to meet people wherever they are.” “You need to make things easy and delicious, not just moral and herctor. Once there are alternative products that depend better on taste, price and comfort, we will get some traction in reducing the effect of livestock.”