Now, I admit to not being an expert on regulatory bodies and their needs when being petitioned to approve a material as a feed ingredient for livestock, poultry, or aquaculture; however, I will say the study presented below has to be one of the most thorough to date on the BSF and aquaculture. Maybe it serves as a model for future studies needed to get BSF approved as a feed (or food) ingredient?

Also, one thing I really like about this study, is the authors bridge BSF, which is a potential model organism for research, with a model organism already established- Zebrafish (Danio). The value of this study, which is highly multi-disciplinary and long-term, surpasses its primary objectives of providing data that could prove relevant for getting regulatory bodies to approve BSF as a feed for various vertebrates as it provides exposure of the BSF to the basic research community.

​The more basic researchers we have working with the BSF, the greater opportunities for the insects as food and feed industry as these researchers can secure funds to do the basic work necessary for fully understanding the species and its biology (and indirectly, its application). 

Zarantoniello, M., B. Randazzo, C. Truzzi, E. Giorgini, C. Marcellucci, J. A. Vargas-Abúndez, A. Zimbelli, A. Annibaldi, G. Parisi, F. Tulli, P. Riolo, and I. Olivotto. 2019. A six-months study on black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) based diets in zebrafish. Scientific Reports 9: 8598.

Insects as Food & Feed in the News!

Special Issues on Insects as Food & Feed (USA)- a nice article in the New York Times on insects as food- hat tip to Julie Lesnik for giving such a fine interview!

Entomological Society of America Note on Special Issue (USA)- another summary of the special issue (discussed in previous blog post).

Development of a National Science Foundation Center on Insects as Food & Feed (USA)- Awesome job, Christine Picard and Heather Jordan, with leading the charge on the development of a global center! We had over 30 companies present from around the world. And, Chef Joseph Yoon whipped up some amazing cuisine for the mixer at the initiation of the meeting. If you have a company and want to learn more about the center, and its benefit to you, send me an email. I will gladly catch you up.

New York Times Twice in One Week (USA)?  Yep, they wrote a second article on the industry. This one reached out to a host of experts in research and industry on the development of this novel form of industrialized agriculture.

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Valerie Stull and I, as part of NACIA, worked with Marianne Shockley to assemble an issue in the Annals of the Entomological Society of America (many thanks to the ESA staff- Lisa Junker and Josh Lancette) on Insects as Food & Feed.

​These articles are products resulting from the Eating Insects, Athens, Georgia conference held last year. Publication assemblages, such as this one and the one by Laura Gasco in Animals, serve as tremendous platforms for the industry. We hope you enjoy reading them.

Many thanks to Julie Lesnik, Floyd Shockley, and the other authors for their hard work pulling together these manuscripts!

SPECIAL ISSUE.... for your reading pleasure

A Special Issue on Insects as Feed and Food as Tribute to Dr. Marianne Clopton Shockley (August 14, 1975 to May 12, 2019)
Jeffery K. Tomberlin, Valerie J. Stull, Julie Lesnik, Floyd W. Shockley

Eating Insects Athens Conference 2018 and the North American Coalition for Insect Agriculture
Justin Butner, Marianne Shockley

Impact of Larval Competition on Life-History Traits of the Black Soldier Fly (Diptera: Stratiomyidae)
Brittny M. Jones, Jeffery K. Tomberlin

How to Reply to Some Ethical Objections to Entomophagy
Bob Fischer

Insect Food Products in the Western World: Assessing the Potential of a New ‘Green’ Market 
C. Matilda Collins, Pauline Vaskou, Yiannis Kountouris

Approaches for Utilizing Insect Protein for Human Consumption: Effect of Enzymatic Hydrolysis on Protein Quality and Functionality
Andrea M. Liceaga

Crude Protein, Amino Acid, and Iron Content of Tenebrio molitor (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) Reared on an Agricultural Byproduct from Maize Production: an Exploratory Study
Valerie J. Stull, Marjorie Kersten, Rachel S. Bergmans, Jonathan A. Patz, Susan Paskewitz

Insect Composition and Uses in Animal Feeding Applications: A Brief Review
Liz Koutsos, Alejandra McComb , Mark Finke

The Cultural Importance of Edible Insects in Oaxaca, Mexico
Kayla J. Hurd, Shruti Shertukde, Trevor Toia, Angelina Trujillo, Ramona L. Pérez, David L. Larom, John J. Love, Changqi Liu

The Colonial/Imperial History of Insect Food Avoidance in the United States
Julie J. Lesnik

The Need for Alternative Insect Protein in Africa
Jennifer L. Pechal, M. Eric Benbow, Arox W. Kamng’ona, Andrews Safalaoh, Kingsley Masamba, Jeremiah Kang’ombe

Adult Reproductive Tract Morphology and Spermatogenesis in the Black Soldier Fly (Diptera: Stratiomyidae)
Aline S. Malawey, David Mercati, Charles C. Love, Jeffery K. Tomberlin

Our colleagues in Italy published a paper in Animals on the potential role of insects as food and feed (hence the title of this post). The article is a great read for those in research, industry, or just interested in the subject in general (maybe you have chickens in your backyard or fish in a pond that you feed occasionally?).

I would like to highlight their conclusion statement as to me, that's the tip of the spear as related to the topic. They emphasize the need for researchers developing insects as feed to consult with the consumer in terms of their needs. The product can be wonderful in terms of nutrients; however, if it is not palatable, the animals will not consume it.  The same can be said for insects as food.

"Consumer" obviously can be defined in a number of ways ranging from the feed companies that mass produce the diets for livestock, poultry, and aquaculture to those individuals that actually buy the feed (e.g., industrial production facilities or family farms). Each of these perspectives provides something valuable to the development of insects as feed. In fact, I believe it is safe to say one relies on the other- none operate in a silo independent one one another.  

If you have time- check out the paper. It's a nice read.  And, if you haven't notice, check out the issue of the journal containing this paper. It is a treasure of science on insects as food and feed.

Sogari, G., M. Amato, I. Biasato, S. Chiesa, and L. Gasco. 2019. The Potential Role of Insects as Feed: A Multi-Perspective Review.