Insects as Sustainable Food Ingredients - Chapter 1: Introduction to Edible Insects

Elsevier, Insects as Sustainable Food Ingredients, Production, Processing and Food Applications, 2016, Pages 1-27.
Authors: 
F.V. Dunkel

This book is about optimism. This optimism is emerging from forward-thinking scientists and entrepreneurs who have a strong social conscience. Carefully and deliberately, the book will demonstrate to the reader the feasibility and value of insects as a sustainable commodity for food, feed, and other applications. It will weave a tapestry describing the richness of this source of protein, the numbers from nutritional tables, the numbers from mass rearing processes, and the safety and concerns of microbial associations in comparison to typical Western culture protein sources. As a prelude to the sustainability, large-scale farming, and production aspects of food insects, this book will walk the reader through the psychological aspects that separate many humans from this important and delicious protein source.