BARRIERS TO EATING
APPEARANCE ISSUE
ALLERGY ISSUE
LEGISLATION ISSUE
PRICE ISSUE
APPEARANCE ISSUE
LOOKS CREEPY is a fetal problem. However delicious they are, people do not eat them if they look creepy. Please look at the results of the survey down below.
As we expected, insectsâ looks are disliked very much. Do we have to overcome this?
People say insects are creepy, but Japanese people can eat octopuses or squids which have many limbs and spurt ink, canât we?
So, maybe we hate to eat insects not just because of their appearances.
â»ăĄăłăăŒăæç»
There is another factor:
âOmnivores are good at adjusting themselves to the environment, and they tend to eat anything, but they tend not to eat unknown things, because unknown things might cause them death. The former is called â a preference for novel foodâ, and the latter is called âa horror for novel food.â So our behavior goes back and forth between the former and the latter. It is called âthe dilemma of omnivores.â â
Quoted from KONCHUSHOKU NYUMON by Uchiyama Shoichi
No doubt, our horror for novel food is a psychological factor which makes us reject eating worms and insects. In other words, it creates our prejudice against them.
There are several ways to overcome this.
First, to change them into something familiar to us. By adding, for example, curry taste, a horror for novel food can be reduced and they can try them easily.
Second, to provide positive information about insect food. If we get positive information, our preference for novel food increases and we will try them more easily.
Actually we never wanted to eat insects when we didnât know much about insect food.
Now we feel very curious about the tastes of insects and we are sure that our preference for novel food is working.
â»ăĄăłăăŒăæç»
Third, to let people know âworms and insects for food are clean.â Some people think worms and insects are dirty because they think they appear somewhere unclean.
Worms and insects for food are mainly farm-raised insects. They are clean and safe.
It is not that things are dirty because of worms and insects but that some of them tend to appear in dirty places.
So when we sell worms and insects for food, we should emphasize that they are raised in clean and safe farms.
Unlike cows and pigs, which we seldom see in our daily life, insects are everywhere in our life.
We may not feel like eating something close at hand. It may be because we no longer hunt animals for food and we are so used to getting food processed somewhere far away.
Insects are everywhere. This can be an advantage in promoting insect eating.
Insects are far easier than other livestock to raise. So even at elementary school, children can raise insects and eat them.â»1
They will feel that they are eating other lives by eating something they raised. That experience will eliminate their feeling of dislike.
Actually children show less dislike for insects. The older they grow, the more dislike they show.
Also, more contact with insects in their childhood leads to less aversion to insectsâ»2.
If they experience eating insects in their childhood, they can enjoy eating insects when they grow up.
It helps eating insects become more and more popular.
As we expected, insectsâ looks are disliked very much. Do we have to overcome this?
People say insects are creepy, but Japanese people can eat octopuses or squids which have many limbs and spurt ink, canât we?
So, maybe we hate to eat insects not just because of their appearances.
â»ăĄăłăăŒăæç»There is another factor:
âOmnivores are good at adjusting themselves to the environment, and they tend to eat anything, but they tend not to eat unknown things, because unknown things might cause them death. The former is called â a preference for novel foodâ, and the latter is called âa horror for novel food.â So our behavior goes back and forth between the former and the latter. It is called âthe dilemma of omnivores.â â
Quoted from KONCHUSHOKU NYUMON by Uchiyama Shoichi
No doubt, our horror for novel food is a psychological factor which makes us reject eating worms and insects. In other words, it creates our prejudice against them.
There are several ways to overcome this.
First, to change them into something familiar to us. By adding, for example, curry taste, a horror for novel food can be reduced and they can try them easily.
Second, to provide positive information about insect food. If we get positive information, our preference for novel food increases and we will try them more easily.
Actually we never wanted to eat insects when we didnât know much about insect food.
Now we feel very curious about the tastes of insects and we are sure that our preference for novel food is working.
â»ăĄăłăăŒăæç»Third, to let people know âworms and insects for food are clean.â Some people think worms and insects are dirty because they think they appear somewhere unclean.
Worms and insects for food are mainly farm-raised insects. They are clean and safe.
It is not that things are dirty because of worms and insects but that some of them tend to appear in dirty places.
So when we sell worms and insects for food, we should emphasize that they are raised in clean and safe farms.
Unlike cows and pigs, which we seldom see in our daily life, insects are everywhere in our life.
We may not feel like eating something close at hand. It may be because we no longer hunt animals for food and we are so used to getting food processed somewhere far away.
Insects are everywhere. This can be an advantage in promoting insect eating.
Insects are far easier than other livestock to raise. So even at elementary school, children can raise insects and eat them.â»1
They will feel that they are eating other lives by eating something they raised. That experience will eliminate their feeling of dislike.
Actually children show less dislike for insects. The older they grow, the more dislike they show.
Also, more contact with insects in their childhood leads to less aversion to insectsâ»2.
If they experience eating insects in their childhood, they can enjoy eating insects when they grow up.
It helps eating insects become more and more popular.
ALLERGY ISSUE
Insects are close to shrimps or crabs, so people who have allergies to shellfish should be careful.Allergic reactions may lead to death, so we canât be too careful when we eat insectsâ»3. 1/1000 of people have severe allergies to insects.
Even if you do not have any allergies to shellfish, you may have an allergy to a certain insect. So do one of our team members. He has never experienced allergies for 17 years, of course, shrimps or crabs, but now, every time he eats crickets, he has hives.
We have not yet had enough studies on allergies to insects, so if you have an allergic reaction only by eating insects, you could provide precious data for experts on insect food. So if you have allergies to insects, we would like you to inform them of the kind of insects you eat, how much you ate, and what kind of reaction you got.
If you have any allergies to insects, we advise you to stop eating insects. If you continue to eat insects, you might end up with being allergic to shrimps and crabs as well.
Even if you do not have any allergies to shellfish, you may have an allergy to a certain insect. So do one of our team members. He has never experienced allergies for 17 years, of course, shrimps or crabs, but now, every time he eats crickets, he has hives.
We have not yet had enough studies on allergies to insects, so if you have an allergic reaction only by eating insects, you could provide precious data for experts on insect food. So if you have allergies to insects, we would like you to inform them of the kind of insects you eat, how much you ate, and what kind of reaction you got.
If you have any allergies to insects, we advise you to stop eating insects. If you continue to eat insects, you might end up with being allergic to shrimps and crabs as well.
LEGISLATION ISSUE
Insect food is not widely eaten, so many countries do not have laws about insect food.
In order to trade insects as easily as other agricultural products, however, legislation is essential.
In Japan, selling insect food is regulated and we cannot sell newly developed food freely under the Food Sanitation Act.
So selling insect food needs to be authorized by a public health center under strict rules on pesticide residue and so on.
In the EU, people have freely traded insects for food since 2018 on condition that they cleared certain standards. Authorization like this clear standards makes trading insects a lot easier and smoother.
In order to trade insects as easily as other agricultural products, however, legislation is essential.
In Japan, selling insect food is regulated and we cannot sell newly developed food freely under the Food Sanitation Act.
So selling insect food needs to be authorized by a public health center under strict rules on pesticide residue and so on.
In the EU, people have freely traded insects for food since 2018 on condition that they cleared certain standards. Authorization like this clear standards makes trading insects a lot easier and smoother.
PRICE ISSUE
Many kinds of insect food which are sold now are more expensive than what we daily eat. Consumers do not buy high priced things, which makes insect food difficult to be popular. This problem can be solved by studying and establishing the way of mass production.
â»1 We actually raised and ate insects. see more
â»2ăquotes:Kayouhumio/NakamotoNaomiăâFind worms and insects creepy:Examination of the feeling from a perspective of child developmentâă(âMushiwokimochiwarugarukanjyounituitenoattatutekikenntouâè«ăæ°æăĄæȘăăăææ ă«ă€ăăŠăźçșéçæ€èš)
â»3 When we ask people to eat insects, we confirm that they donât have allergies to shrimps and crabs.
â»2ăquotes:Kayouhumio/NakamotoNaomiăâFind worms and insects creepy:Examination of the feeling from a perspective of child developmentâă(âMushiwokimochiwarugarukanjyounituitenoattatutekikenntouâè«ăæ°æăĄæȘăăăææ ă«ă€ăăŠăźçșéçæ€èš)
â»3 When we ask people to eat insects, we confirm that they donât have allergies to shrimps and crabs.