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Entomophagy around the world

Switzerland

Switzerland is a country known for its maniacal laws, one of which prohibits the use of foods not specified in the law. In 2017, Switzerland approved mealworms and crickets for human consumption, ahead of the EU, which approved entomophagy in 2018. In our research, we found that Switzerland has a good ranking of 16th in the achievement of the SDG targets, and that it is also one of the top countries in the priority targets in the climate, energy, and sustainable consumption and production category strategies for "reducing food waste," "promoting healthy, balanced, and sustainable nutrition," "strengthening food system resilience," and "reducing food waste" in the climate, energy, and sustainable consumption and production category strategies. The strategy for biodiversity also includes a "rapid and significant reduction of all greenhouse gas emissions," which indicates that the country as a whole is taking action to address these issues.

Thailand

It is said that insects are most actively eaten in Thailand in the Yee Saan region located in the northeast of the country. Why did people start eating insects in the Ethan region in the first place?Because there is no sea in the Ethan region and it was difficult to secure enough water for agriculture due to the climate, insects rich in protein were originally eaten in the region, which gradually spread throughout Thailand.It is thought that the reason for the spread of insects in Thailand may have been that by seasoning insects with spicy food, other visual and tactile elements were made invisible and resistance to the food was eliminated. The use of spiciness also allows the natural flavors of the food to be brought out

Japan


It is known that Japan has had as many as 148 species of insectivores. However, the number has decreased to less than 10 species today. The main insects eaten are silkworms and honey mushrooms. The cause of this decline is thought to be the accelerated decline of satoyama during the period of rapid economic growth, which led to a neglect of the relationship with insects. Even though more than 2 billion people in the world eat insects, most of them are for self-consumption, and the market size for insects is not large. The production of insect products is currently only about one-thousandth that of fishmeal and soybean meal, the other protein sources used.
This is due to high prices. The problem is that the price is too high.

Reason 1 -> Because the need for entomophagy is low and the volume of distribution is small, which makes it is impossible to go into large-scale production.
Reason 2 -> Because the market competition is low and sales will not change even if a relatively high price is set.
Reason 3 -> If they want to ensure safety and security, they need to import insects from Thailand, which have a higher cost, instead of insects from China, which have a lower cost. (Grilas, the company we interviewed, says that they do everything from aquaculture to farming in-house.)
Reason 4 -> Because it is inevitably labor-intensive to use human hands to raise them, which also leads to safety and security.


But if the price doesn't go down, what's the benefit of going all the way with an entomophagous diet?


Not a few people think that way.
Therefore, we are committed to sharing the good qualities of entomophagy, even if only a little.

More people will be interested in entomophagy.
↓
Demand will increase gradually.
↓
Insect market expands
↓
People are going down a little bit.
↓
More people pick up entomophagy.


I wondered if I could start a chain of events.　Are you starting to get the picture?






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