(The Guardian 10 July 2024)
Singapore has taken the leap and approved 16 species of insect as safe for human consumption.
Creatures to make the grade in the view of the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) include crickets, grubs, moth larvae and one species of honeybee. The agency says it has taken this decision simply because the insect industry is “nascent and insects are a new food item here”.
It comes as the United Nations Food And Agricultural Organisation (FAO) continues to promote insect consumption as an environmentally friendly way to get protein in your diet – for both humans and their livestock.
Why does the UN want us to eat insects?
Because it is crunch time climate-wise, and insects are a much more sustainable source of protein than livestock.
They have a high “conversion rate”, which means they are efficient at turning plant energy into protein, or in other words, turning what they eat into their own bodies. “Crickets need six times less feed than cattle, four times less than sheep, and twice less than pigs and broiler chickens to produce the same amount of protein,” according to the FAO.
They can also be farmed indoors, use less space and water, and produce lower emissions. Because they can be farmed in rural and urban areas in relatively small rooms, they can also be a source of income for people who have less access to land or the training needed to farm livestock.
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