Klaus Analschwab from the WEF was pushing eating bugs while phasing out meat.
Insect industry knows it needs to overcome squeamish consumers before it can grow
Fri 16 May
Easily dismissed as a "hard sell" to squeamish consumers, Australia's insect industry wants to be the nation's next agricultural powerhouse.
As it explores the use of insects in everything from human consumption to pet food and waste recycling, the industry admits there are some critical barriers still to overcome.
It hopes to address those with a $2 million research program led by the University of Adelaide that will help develop food standards, market opportunities and public education.
Still early days
Professor Kerry Wilkinson from the university's School of Agriculture, Food and Wine said public perception and a lack of standards and regulation were some of the critical hurdles to the sector's growth within Australia.
"It's an emerging industry … still relatively young but absolutely growing and increasing its footprint, and that's really being underpinned by the amazing potential for what insects can do," Professor Wilkinson said.
"We can use them to manage food waste problems, but the insects themselves also represent a really high-value and nutritious protein source.
"It might be a bit of a hard sell for us to convince people to eat insects now, but with some insects there is that potential."
Exploring insect potential
Professor Wilkinson's research began more than a decade ago, focusing on mealworms and crickets as food, but has expanded to a multitude of potential uses.
"There's a whole range of applications and for me as a researcher it's really exciting to see the other things that insects can be used for — things like biofuels and pharmaceuticals," she said.
"There's potential to use them in pet food, and we've found that most pet owners are actually more comfortable with the idea of feeding their dogs with insect-based pet food than plant-based pet food."
Supported by AgriFutures Australia, Professor Wilkinson has assembled a research team across the nation to tackle the challenge of "social licence", but also barriers like biosecurity and food safety.
In South Australia's Coonawarra, winery owner Luke Tocaciu has been offering a "Crickets and Cabernet" edible insect and wine tasting for the past year.
He said many visitors to the cellar door had been open to trying edible insects for the first time.
"We've had lots of different reactions. People are surprised they taste good," Mr Tocaciu said.
The business was inspired to offer tastings due to edible insects' sustainability.
"It doesn't take a lot of energy to produce these insects and they are quite high in protein," he said.more-
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-16/edible-insect-industrys-squeamish-consume... 
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