Insect proteins used in feed production could represent a good solution for environmental and ethical problems related to the food system. A recent paper of our team investigated consumer perception towards the use of insects as feed for duck meat.
In this study "Insects as Feed for Farmed Poultry: Are Italian Consumers Ready to Embrace This Innovation?", we tested how non-technical information on the benefits of introducing insects as feed for farmed animals convinced a group of Italian consumers to accept duck meat fed either with insect-based meal or live insects. We found that providing information on the environmental, safety, nutritional, and taste-related aspects of insect-based feed as a protein substitute in the poultry sector increased the consumers’ acceptance of using insects as feed, as well as their readiness to purchase and consume these products. Our results show that some sociodemographic attributes, i.e., gender, age, and education level, are significantly related with the acceptance of products from insect-fed animals.
