“We want to take bug consumption mainstream,” said Yum Bug co-founder Leo Taylor.
QUICK FACTS:
- Due to the rising cost of living, the supermarket chain Aldi is reviewing whether it would be viable to sell edible insect products from the company Yum Bug across UK stores.
- Yum Bug founders Aaron Thomas and Leo Taylor were selected to compete on the UK show, Aldi’s Next Big Thing, where the edible insect arrangements will be handed to Julie Ashfield, the Managing Director of Buying at Aldi UK, for further consideration.
- The televised competition, however, is not designed to combat the increased cost-of-living, but to encourage Aldi’s partnership with local producers.
- Co-founder Aaron Thomas stated, “We’re on a mission to change perceptions of insects as food; they’re one of the most sustainable protein sources in the world.”
- “Crickets are up to 70 percent protein,” he continued, “which is three times the amount of protein found in beef.”
INSECTS AS FOOD SOURCE:
- The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) “foresees” that by 2050, resources such as land, water, and more environmental necessities will be scarce, creating the option for insect-based foods.
- A report by Meticulous Research found that edible insect products are “expected to reach $9.6 billion by 2030,” a growth rate of 28.3%.
- The study viewed Covid-related food processing and distribution changes as a large factor affecting the availability of protein, increasing “the demand for alternative protein sources, including edible insects.”
BACKGROUND:
- American Faith reported that over a hundred food processing plants have been destroyed, contributing to the fear of food shortages.
- In the Netherlands, mealworms have been given to schoolchildren as a “sustainable meat substitute.”
- The World Economic Forum (WEF) has been promoting the consumption of insects as part of its strategy to “reduce climate change.”
