The edible insect industry is growing like never before.
But it’s no longer just about insects as food and feed. Today, insects are being used for other applications, like:
→ Bioconversion of organic waste with insects
→ Formulations for cosmetics
→ Degradable bioplastics
→ Biofertilizers for crops
→ Medical supplies
So, it’s clear that the edible insect industry today covers a wide variety of areas. Some are more developed, such as food and feed. Others are still taking their first steps, such as the production of bioplastics from insects.
Therefore, today we want to share with you a list of the various areas of development for the edible insect industry.
And the professions that can benefit the most from them.
💡 Who knows? Your next job may be within the edible insect industry.
Human Food
Foods with insects are chosen by consumers for their nutritional value, contribution to the environment or culinary richness.
Professions involved:
- Nutrition
- Food Safety
- Food Science
- Food Engineering
- Research and Development
- Food Marketing
- Gastronomy
- Psychology
- Medicine
Animal Feed
The animal feed industry is targeting three key markets: petfood, aquaculture and poultry, which consider insect ingredients not only for their nutritional quality, but also for their ability to boost animal health, as well as the benefits environmental aspects of their production.
Professions involved:
- Agronomy
- Food Safety
- Aquaculture
- Veterinary Science
- Research and Development
- Poultry farming
- Entomology
- Zootechnics
- Ethology
- Biology
Waste Management
The major environmental attraction of the production of several insect species, such as the black soldier fly, is that their larvae can be fed on organic waste.
This represents an opportunity to revalue substrates of low nutritional value and convert them into ingredients of high nutritional quality.
Professions involved:
- Biology
- Entomology
- Waste Management
- Environmental Consulting
- Environmental Engineering
- Environmental Education
- Biotechnology
Cosmetics
The cosmetic industry is looking to insects as a source of various ingredients necessary for the development of lotions, shampoos and disinfectant formulations.
Insect ingredients that can be used for the development of personal care applications include chitin, chitosan and lauric acid.
Professions involved:
- Cosmetology
- Dermatology
- Chemical engineering
- Research and Development
- Cosmetics Marketing
- Pharmacology
- Biotechnology
Education
The growth of the edible insect industry has led to more and more people wanting to learn about the subject. Being a novel field of study, education on edible insects is very limited within educational institutions.
📍 For this reason, at Insect Academy we created a platform aimed at educating in the field of insects as food and feed.
You can sign up now for the course “Edible insects: Food, feed and other applications”.
Professions involved:
- Pedagogy
- Marketing
- Neuroscience
- Scientific investigation
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Writing
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The growth of the edible insect industry represents further professional development in a number of areas.
Since education on the subject is scarce, it is important that those who wish to join the insects as food and feed industry are trained.
Therefore, at Insect Academy we launched the online course "Edible insects: Food, feed and other applications", designed for both students and professionals, without previous knowledge on the subject.
To follow the latest trends in insects as food, feed, and other applications, follow Insect Academy on LinkedIn.
👋 See you in the next edition!