27-March-2008 SEARCA News Release
How about a special dish of insects on your plate for dinner?
Insects are very nutritious; they contain twice the protein content of raw meat and fish. How come they are not appealing for meals? Perhaps it is because there is no public awareness that indeed, insects can be a yummy source of protein.
About 1,400 species of insects are edible. Entomophagy, or human consumption of insects is common in most parts of the world. The Philippines, being a tropical country, has an abundant number of insects which are good for one’s appetite. Some of the edible insects in the Philippines include the mole cricket (kamaro), june beetle (salagubang), migratory locust (balang), and weaver ants (kara-kara).
However, eating insects is not a day to day event in the country for many reasons. These include: 1) unavailability of regular supply, 2) prevalence of other food alternatives at affordable prices, 3) concerns over food quality and safety of species collected from the wild, and 4) lack of public awareness on insects’ nutritive value.
In Thailand, the consumption of edible insects eventually became a source of livelihood for the people. Not only that, the industry also proved to be a good way of managing the pest problems in agriculture.
On this note, the Philippines should take a closer look at the potentials of edible insects industry. There is a need to develop new and acceptable recipes as well as an effective marketing support system in order to create public awareness on edible insect species and possibly develop opportunities for livelihood. (Ranell Martin M. Dedicatoria, KMU)
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Paper presented by Dr. Candida B. Adalla, College of Agriculture, University of the Philippines Los Baños during the Agriculture and Development Seminar Series (ADDS) titled Edible Insects in the Philippines: Opportunities for Livelihood and Management of Pest Problems, 25 March 2008
