Insects — nutritious and ecological food. Why don't people want to eat them?

Illustrative photo

Insects are a nutritious source of protein and a staple food in many regions of the world, particularly in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Oceania. So what's stopping the rest of the world from eating insects?

For many, the very thought of it evokes disgust. Some edible insects have already received marketing authorization from the European Food Safety Authority, yet according to a 2020 report by the European Consumer Organisation, only one in ten Europeans would agree to replace meat with insects.

Among consumers in Western Europe, the main reasons cited for avoiding insects are disgust — alongside cultural norms, food neophobia, and safety concerns.

Experts say that if residents of the US and Europe can overcome their aversion, edible insects could revolutionize food systems and become part of a climate-friendly solution to global hunger.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 2.33 billion people face food insecurity. Insects can help address this problem. They are packed with nutrients and require fewer resources than traditional livestock farming, making them an ecological alternative to meat.

"If you look at protein per kilogram, insects are incredibly environmentally sustainable," says Jessica Fanzo, director of the Food for Humanity Initiative at Columbia University in New York.

They require less energy and resources like land, water, and feed than beef or poultry, Fanzo adds.

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Edible insects have a significantly lower carbon footprint than cattle or sheep. Photo: Getty Images

Take steak, for example. Beef is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, particularly methane — a powerful, short-lived greenhouse gas that is approximately 80 times more harmful than carbon dioxide (CO2) over a 20-year period. Livestock farming is also a major driver of tropical deforestation and consumes significant volumes of water.

Edible insects have a significantly lower carbon footprint than animals like cows or sheep.

But disgust is an extremely powerful emotion. It evolved as a survival mechanism — an instinctive alarm signal regarding a potential threat. It's also a learned reaction, shaped by cultural norms. When instinct and upbringing work together, overcoming aversion becomes difficult.

"The disgust response is very powerful," says David Pizarro, a professor of psychology at Cornell University in New York.

His research suggests that sensitivity to disgust influences moral judgments.

"Disgust is closely tied to our notions of purity," says Pizarro, whose research findings show that people with higher sensitivity to disgust are more likely to hold traditional views.

"There's a general wariness of novelty, which typically correlates with conservative attitudes," he explains.

"At some point in the future, we will be consuming more insects," says Pizarro. "The question is, how do we get there?"

Jessica Fanzo notes that food norms are arbitrary.

"Eggs are quite a strange food," she says. "Why do we eat eggs? Why have we decided that eating eggs is normal, but eating crickets isn't?"

One reason for disgust is that insects are usually eaten whole — with legs, eyes, and all. This reminds consumers that their food was once alive.

In industrially developed food systems, people are often disconnected from the origin of meat. "You don't recognize the animal in your food," says Antonio Rocha Biscansin-Junior, a professor of food science at the Federal Institute of Education, Science, and Technology in Rondônia, Brazil.

Reducing meat consumption isn't just about finding a sustainable protein source. It's about offering an alternative that matches the sensory appeal and cultural familiarity of meat, which is what makes insects a hard sell in the US.

"It's going to be tough to get Americans to eat cricket burgers," says Dustin Kramet, executive director of the Insect Institute.

At the same time, a 2022 economic forecast predicted that the market value of edible insects in the US would increase by 450% by 2032.

For Biscansin-Junior, entomophagy — the consumption of insects — is both a professional and personal matter. He grew up in Brazil's Amazon region, where he ate "gongos" — beetle larvae that live inside coconuts — a local delicacy.

"My friends and I would go into the jungle, open coconuts, and if there were larvae inside, we'd eat them," he recalls. "They tasted sweet, a bit like coconut."

"Many associate insects with diseases. These associations become an emotion — disgust. When you see an insect, you feel disgust," says the scientist.

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In many countries, such as Mexico, insects are a popular food

Biscansin-Junior's research in Brazil highlights three main barriers to the commercial production and consumption of edible insects: legislation, price, and disgust.

The first two are structural and related to new regulations and economic supply chains. The infrastructure for mass production and distribution of edible insects in Western countries, including Brazil, is still taking shape. But the last barrier is psychological and related to cultural connotations.

Jessica Fanzo agrees that disgust is not rational. Barriers include cultural norms, negative associations, and food system challenges.

"Do I think everyone should eat insects? No," she says. "But I think there's a way to make it all a little better without sacrificing too much."

Since insects are typically consumed whole, they are also a complete protein, says Biscansin-Junior. Insects can provide the body with essential amino acids, which are necessary for tissue development and repair. "Complete protein" foods contain all nine essential amino acids that the human body cannot synthesize on its own.

People under 39 years old, according to Biscansin-Junior, are generally more willing to consume insects. The next generation may see them as an edible alternative.

"Children don't yet perceive insects as something disgusting, so they can play with cockroaches without feeling disgust," he says. "Curiosity is extremely important here."

Most cultures normalize a small set of animal products, while deeming the rest "disgusting." "This selectivity shows how adaptable we are," says Pizarro. Habituation, he adds, can immediately reduce aversion.

Some experts suggest a kind of "public exposure therapy" to overcome disgust. That is, consumers should see edible insects in the market and observe other people consuming them. Such exposure can change perceptions of what's normal and reduce feelings of social deviance.

Recent studies show that while disgust reduces the desire to eat and the quantity consumed, it does not affect the actual pleasantness of the taste, which offers opportunities for promoting new ecological products like insects.

However, Kramet cautions against perceiving edible insects as a universal solution.

"Disgust towards insects is learned — and it can be unlearned," he says. "But it's unrealistic to expect insects to become a primary meat substitute in Western diets."

A 2025 study showed that most insects specially farmed are used as animal feed, not for human consumption. Even when insects are added to food products, they rarely replace meat. And since they are often fed the same grains as livestock, insect farming may not be efficient.

Instead, Dustin Kramet points to Denmark's 2023 Plant-Based Foods Action Plan as a more practical model that promotes plant-based diets through cross-sector collaboration. "Plant-based meat substitutes don't elicit the same disgust as insects," he adds.

"How do we simultaneously solve both problems — food insecurity and climate change? There's a whole range of solutions and tools. Insects might just be one component of it," says Jessica Fanzo.

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