If you think you would only consider eating an insect if you were stranded on a desert island, you’re not alone. But recent research might just convince you to give a bug-based snack a chance.
The study, albeit small, found that participants were initially squeamish about trying “insect-based food”—with the idea alone evoking emotions like fear and disgust. But when they actually sampled an insect protein bar, they had a change of heart: Most preferred it, in fact, to a run-of-the-mill cereal bar.
Published by the American Psychological Association, the study wasn’t just a quirky experiment. While insects aren’t generally considered a pantry staple in Western cultures, many people around the globe do include them in their diets as traditional foods, delicacies, or simply because they enjoy them. Nutritionally, insects provide protein, healthful unsaturated fats, carbohydrates, and minerals such as calcium, iron, and zinc. From a practical standpoint, grasshoppers, mealworms, crickets, and other bugs can be consumed in various ways—whole (as a fried or roasted snack); as ingredients in bars, cookies, and pastas; or processed into protein powders, flours, or other versatile forms that can be used in home cooking.
Perhaps most importantly, insects could offer a sustainable solution to the world’s protein needs. Insect-based food production is much friendlier to the environment than the production of animal foods (especially meat)—requiring far fewer resources (land, water, feed, and energy) and churning out a fraction of greenhouse gas emissions (which contribute to climate change) and other types of pollution.
Still, as the researchers on the new study put it (perhaps mildly), insect foods face “consumer acceptance challenges.”
For their study, the investigators, from the University of Beira Interior in Portugal, wanted to see how consumers might react to insect-based foods—not only their opinions but also their physiological responses, including heart rate and brain activity.
They recruited 38 adults, ages 18 to 55, who had never consumed insect-based fare before and first surveyed them on their knowledge and thoughts about the products. Almost half of the participants (47 percent) were aware that insect-based foods were available, although few (8 percent) had ever actually seen them for sale in stores. As for their thoughts on eating insects, when they were asked to choose from a list of emotions, they usually picked “surprise” and “fear,” with some “disgust” mixed in.
Next came the taste tests. All participants sampled both an insect bar and a regular cereal bar while wearing electrodes that measured their heart rate and brain activity. The bars looked nearly identical and had the same flavoring (apple and cinnamon). Some participants were truthfully told which bar they were eating, but others were deceived. For example, in some cases, they were led to believe the insect bar was actually the cereal bar.
By and large, the researchers expected that participants would give higher ratings to the familiar cereal bar. But they were wrong. The vast majority picked the buggy bar as their favorite.
“The findings were very surprising,” the lead researcher said in a news release. “This was really an unexpected result as literature said to us that consumers tend to reject these novel foods.”
Heart rate and brain activity measurements, meanwhile, suggested that participants became especially attentive and engaged while eating the insect bar—even those who weren’t aware they were sampling the insect snack. The researchers interpreted that as a sign that the participants weren’t simply reacting to the novelty of eating insect protein.
The researchers do point out that presenting insects in the form of a flavored protein bar likely had a lot to do with the high ratings. Past research has shown that people are generally more receptive to eating insects when they look, taste, and feel nothing like insects.
From a marketing stance, the study suggests that many consumers could be won over by direct exposure to insect-based foods (as in free taste samplings). The researchers also suggest that messaging around the products should emphasize their nutritional value and benefits for the environment over their “newness.”
What to do. If your interest has been piqued, it takes only a bit of digging to find bug-based foods. Specialty grocery stores sometimes carry them, as do online retailers. You may discover that you have a taste for those chili-lime crickets, BBQ mealworms, or chocolate-dipped ants. But as with any prepared foods, it’s wise to check the labels to make sure they don’t have an excess of added sugar or other unhealthy ingredients. And watch the calories, which can add up quickly if you eat them too freely.
A couple of other cautions: Allergic reactions to insects have been documented in people with shellfish or dust-mite allergies. Also, raw and wild-harvested insects carry a greater risk of contamination (with pathogens like Salmonella, for example, and heavy metals) than farmed insects and commercially produced food products subject to food-safety regulations.
