The European Federation of Animal Science (EAAP) had its 73rd EAAP Annual Meeting at the wonderful world heritage city of Porto, in Portugal.
The conference took place in the International Congress Center of Alfândega do Porto, located in the historic city centre, by the Douro River, in a historic building, recovered by Arch. Souto Moura.
I was invited to speak on “Consumer perceptions and acceptance of insects as feed: current findings and future outlook” in the Session “Insects as food, feed, and technical applications” organized by Professor Laura Gasco (University of Turin, Italy). My presentation contributed to the discussion on the factors influencing consumers’ purchase motivations and willingness to pay for meat products from poultry, aquaculture, and pigs fed with insects.
Our studies (see below) showed that information about the benefits of insects as feed could improve consumers’ attitudes towards animal-based products fed with insects. For instance, our results suggest that communicating about the insects as being a natural feed for several animal species (e.g., poultry and fish) and that the final meat taste is unchanged are important factors to increase acceptance. Thus, legislators should consider this lack of knowledge and help inform consumers about the benefits of insect meals. In the Global North, entomophagy has received global media attention in recent years, contributing to an increase in curiosity among consumers and providing publicity for the private sector. The same phenomenon might happen to this novel feedstuff in the near future.
Main references:
- Sogari, ; Menozzi, D.;Mora, C.; Gariglio, M.; Gasco, L. and Schiavone A. (2022). How information affects consumers’ purchase intention and willingness to pay for poultry farmed with insect-based meal and live insects. Journal of Insects as Food and Feed, 8:2, 197-206. https://doi.org/10.3920/JIFF2021.0034
- Menozzi D, Sogari G, Mora C, Gariglio M, Gasco L, Schiavone A. (2021). Insects as Feed for Farmed Poultry: Are Italian Consumers Ready to Embrace This Innovation? Insects; 12(5):435. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects12050435