Will eating insects save the planet?

Eating insects may be healthier, cheaper and better for the environment than consuming meat – what’s not to like?

The Singapore Food Agency announced last month that it has approved 16 insect species as fit for human consumption.

The agency has permitted some species of beetle, locusts, grasshoppers and mealworms to be sold as food. These insects cannot simply be harvested from the wild. They must be “farmed in premises regulated by the Competent Authority”, according to the agency.

While entomophagy, the practice of eating insects, in many parts of the world remains gastronomic esotericism, Singapore is one of several countries that have begun to welcome it.

Indeed, in some parts of the world, insects are served up as popular street food. But do we all need to be switching our diets to include insects?

Some of the arguments for eating insects include: