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Questionnaire Results

In order to investigate Japanese people's perception of bugs, we conducted a questionnaire about bugs among the visitors to our school festival. Based on the results, we made some considerations.
※As this year's festival was held online, the questionnaire was also conducted online.

Overview

Date of implementation: November 14-15, 2020
Total number of data: 179

Respondent information (age and gender)

Questions

Q1: What do you think of when you hear the word " bugs"? (Descriptive form)

Q2: Do you have an aversion to bugs? (Select one)
①Yes ②No ③Others

Q3: For those who answered "Yes" to Q2. What is the reason for your dislike? (Descriptive form)

Q4: Have you ever eaten insect food? (Select one)
①I have eaten them ②I have never eaten them

Q5: For those who answered " I have eaten insect food" in Q4. In what kind of situation did you eat it? (Descriptive form)

Q6: For those who answered "I have never eaten insect food" in Q4. Would you like to try eating insect food? (Select one)
①I would like to try it ②I would not like to try it ③Others

Q7: (For those who answered Q6) Please tell us the reason for your answer to Q6. (Descriptive form)

Results and Considerations

Q1: What do you think of when you hear the word " bugs"? (Descriptive form)

Number of answers: 175
Specific Bugs Answers
Beetles, cockroaches, flies, mosquitoes, Caterpillars, butterflies, cockroaches, etc.
Answers to Images and Thoughts
・Summer
・Green
・Flying with wings beating
・Some things are dangerous and scary
・Insects that are all around us
・Fine insects that swarm around lights
・Creatures with a bad image
・Functional but creepy looking creatures

Our Considerations
Many of the respondents gave specific names of insects, but at the same time, many had the impression that they were "scary," "bad image," or "disgusting". It seems that not many people have a positive image when they hear the word " bugs".

Q2: Do you have an aversion to bugs? ( Select one )

①Yes ②No ③Others

Answers for "Others”
・Depends on the type
・Depends on the time and situation
・I have an aversion to pests.
・I have more of a dislike for them than an aversion, etc.

Our Considerations
We found that more than half of the respondents had an aversion to bugs, and even among the "Others" category (14.2%), the majority had a negative image of them, such as "It depends on the type".

Q3: For those who answered "Yes" to Q2. What is the reason for your dislike? (Descriptive form)

Number of answers: 101
・Because they are different from mammals.
・Because many bugs in our homes live in dirty places.
・Because they have too many, too few, or too twisted legs
・Because their body structure is too different from that of vertebrates, and I feel rejected.
・I don't know the exact reason.
・I am distracted when they are in the same space as I am in.
・Because I really dislike the sound of insects.
・I feel it is not hygienic.
・I am afraid of them because they have a different ecology from ours.

Our Considerations
We found that many people feel disgusted with bugs because of the differences in ecology and body structure between bugs and humans, such as "I'm afraid of them because their ecology is different from ours," "They are different from mammals," "Because their body structure is too different from that of vertebrates, and I feel rejected.", "I don't know the exact reason.," and "Because they have too many, too few, or too twisted legs" . There were also a relatively large number of people who disliked them for reasons such as lack of hygiene and unpredictable movements.

Q4: Have you ever eaten insect food? (Select one)

①I have eaten them ②I have never eaten them

Our Considerations
More than 80% of the respondents answered that they have never eaten insect food. It seems that insect-eating is still not a familiar food.

Q5: For those who answered " I have eaten insect food" in Q4. In what kind of situation did you eat it? (Descriptive form)

Number of answers: 27
・Because I was interested in it.
・I received it as a gift.
・I ate tsukudani (food boiled down in soy sauce) of locusts at my grandparents' house.
・Because they were sold at a food stall in Thailand and I was told to try them

Our Considerations
There are few cases where people have voluntarily eaten insects because they were curious about it, but there are many cases where people have eaten insects because they were recommended to do so by others, such as "I got it as a souvenir," "I ate locust tsukudani at my grandparents' house," or "I saw it at a food stall in Thailand and was told to try it.

Q6: For those who answered "I have never eaten insect food" in Q4. Would you like to try eating insect food? (Select one)

①I would like to try it ②I would not like to try it ③Others

Answers for "Others"
・I would be willing to eat them if they did not look like insects (e.g., in powder form).
・I don't think I will actively eat them, but if I am forced to eat them in the future due to food shortages, I will eat them.

Our Considerations
Nearly 70% of the respondents answered that they would not like to try insect food, indicating that there is a great deal of resistance in society to insect-eating.

Q7 (For those who answered Q6) Please tell us the reason for your answer to Q6. (Descriptive form)

Number of responses: 141
I want to try it
・Because it is high in nutrients
・Because I don't know its taste.
・Because my friend who had eaten it said that it was surprisingly tasty.
・I've seen videos of people eating insect food on video sites, and I've heard that it's not bad.
・I've always wanted to try insect food when I see people on TV who say they like it, to see if it really tastes good.
・When I saw a video of my favorite artist eating insects, he said they tasted like nuts, which impressed me and got me interested.
I do not want to try it
・I don't want to eat it when I imagine insects even if it tastes good.
・I can't eat them because they remind me of living things.
・Because I have never grown up in a culture like that and am not used to it.
・Because I have a fear of them.
・I don't think it tastes good.
・Because it's uncomfortable to see something in the shape that you normally see, because it makes you imagine it's moving.
Others
I'm not good with insects, so I feel uncomfortable if the appearance of insects is reflected in the food.

Our Considerations
Those are answers "I want to try it" said, "Because my friend who had eaten it said that it was surprisingly tasty," or "I've seen videos of people eating insect food on video sites, and I've heard that it's not bad".We found out that many people thought about eating insect food after hearing what others thought about it.

On the other hand, for those who answered "I don't want to try it," we found that many of them did not want to try it because of their aversion to insects, such as "Because I feel resistance to the unknown," or "I don't want to eat it when I imagine insects even if it tastes good".Some people did not want to try eating insects because they looked just as they did when they were alive, for example, "Because it's uncomfortable to see something in the shape that you normally see, because it makes me imagine it's moving".

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