Adoption of insects as a source for food and feed production : a cross-cultural study on determinants of acceptance

Many traditional societies have used or still use insects as a protein source, while westernized societies are reluctant to use insects, despite being the major consumers of animal proteins. Edible insects are highly nutritious with high fat, protein and mineral contents depending on the species and thus represent a noteworthy alternative food and feed source. Nevertheless, consumer acceptance needs to be established. In this context, the present work aimed at investigating cross-cultural differences in perceived acceptance of the use of insects as a source for food and feed production. A cross-cultural consumer study was carried out in Brazil, Germany, Mozambique, Norway, Portugal, and United Kingdom. In each country 210 consumers, divided by gender and age group, were asked to complete a questionnaire comprising the following constructs: i) Health, Convenience and Ecological Welfare, built on 16 items drawn from the Food Choice Questionnaire; ii) Food Neophobia Scale, measured through ten items; iii) Awareness towards the use of insects as food, one item; iv) Exposure to edible insects, one item; v) Consumer acceptance of insects as food and as feed for chickens, cows, pigs and fish, seven items; vi) Disgust towards insects as food, five items; and vii) Knowledge regarding edible insects, one open-ended question; complemented with socio-demographic data. Acceptance of edible insects or of protein bars with cricket flour is generally low and strongly varies between countries, although highly correlating with the acceptance of sushi. Generally, there is a higher acceptance of fish, poultry, pork and beef from animals fed with feed formulae incorporating insects or insect proteins, with a strong variation of the underlying determinants within the different cultures. These results provide insight on how consumers perceive the acceptance of insects as food and feed, and stress the influence of cultural differences