Encouraging sustainable insect-based diets: The role of disgust, social influence, and moral concern in insect consumption

Consumers' perception of novel foods and the impact of heuristics and biases: A systematic review

According to the definition adopted in the European Union, novel foods are foods that were not consumed to a significant degree within the Union before May 15, 1997. This includes cultivated meat and insects. Novel foods are meant to play a critical role in the transition towards sustainable food systems. However, their success depends on whether and to what extent they will be incorporated into the diets at the population level. This review investigates consumers' perception of novel food products by narratively synthesising results on the influence of heuristics and biases triggered by emotions, personality traits, and socio-cultural factors. Empirical studies conducted in Western countries and published in English after 1997 were eligible, which led to 182 studies being included. Notably, most included studies focused on insects and cultivated meat. Disgust and fear are shown to be the main emotions driving rejection of novel foods, together with food neophobia and specific cultural norms common across countries included in the scope of the review. Familiarity with novel foods and curiosity both led to higher acceptance. Despite being investigated directly in a minority of studies, heuristics and related biases mostly fell under the "affect," the "natural-is-better," and the "trust" heuristics. The review also discusses to what extent consumers' perception reflects in the regulatory framework applicable to novel foods in the European Union, how it influences the regulation of insects and cultivated meat and which lessons can be drawn for the future of the regulatory framework.

Legal situation and consumer acceptance of insects being eaten as human food in different nations across the world-A comprehensive review

Insect consumption is a traditional practice in many countries. Currently, the urgent need for ensuring food sustainability and the high pressure from degrading environment are urging food scientists to rethink the possibility of introducing edible insects as a promising food type. However, due to the lack of the standardized legislative rules and the adequate scientific data that demonstrate the safety of edible insects, many countries still consider it a grey area to introduce edible insects into food supply chains. In this review, we comprehensively reviewed the legal situation, consumer willingness, acceptance, and the knowledge on edible insect harvesting, processing as well as their safety concerns. We found that, despite the great advantage of introducing edible insects in food supply chains, the legal situation and consumer acceptance for edible insects are still unsatisfactory and vary considerably in different countries, which mostly depend on geographical locations and cultural backgrounds involving psychological, social, religious, and anthropological factors. Besides, the safety concern of edible insect consumption is still a major issue hurdling the promotion of edible insects, which is particularly concerning for countries with no practice in consuming insects. Fortunately, the situation is improving. So far, some commercial insect products like energy bars, burgers, and snack foods have emerged in the market. Furthermore, the European Union has also recently issued a specific item for regulating new foods, which is believed to establish an authorized procedure to promote insect-based foods and should be an important step for marketizing edible insects in the near future.

Booming the bugs: How can marketing help increase consumer acceptance of insect-based food in Western countries?

Edible insects could be a promising answer to the question of how to feed a growing human population with a healthier and more sustainable source of protein. Despite the increasing interest in entomophagy in food science and industry, however, consumer acceptance for insect-based food products remains low in Western countries. This systematic review provides a comprehensive and timely overview of studies relevant for researchers, practitioners and other stakeholders involved in the marketing of these products. Reviewing data from 45 selected studies, we focus on marketing measures tested for their influence on Western consumers' preference, acceptance, willingness to try, eat and/or buy insect-based food products. Organising the findings according to the 4Ps of the marketing mix framework, five main ways of enhancing the appeal and acceptance of insect-based food products are discussed: 1) developing product attributes that align with the specific preferences of target consumers; 2) a more subtle labelling of the presence of insects; 3) using value-added or competition-based pricing strategies; 4) making products consistently available in the marketplace; and 5) promoting products more effectively through advertising, tasting activities, and social influence. The heterogeneity we find among the studies, whether due to differences in the products researched, in sampling countries, or in data-collection methods, indicates key research gaps for future studies to address.

A social norm intervention increases liking and intake of whole crickets, and what this tells us about food disgust

Edible insects are healthy and sustainable but are rejected as food in Western populations due to disgust. We tested the effectiveness of written interventions to reduce disgust and increase intake of whole crickets. Cricket acceptance after reading a descriptive social norm or food preparation intervention passage was compared with a control passage, and an unfamiliar but non-disgusting food (leblebi, roasted chickpeas). Participants (N = 120) were randomised to one of four conditions (control + crickets, food preparation + crickets, social norm + crickets and control + leblebi). Outcome measures included taste pleasantness, desire to eat, food intake and, to measure disgust, self-report disgust, tactile sensitivity and latency to eat. In the control condition, crickets were rejected due to disgust and low desire to eat. In comparison, in the social norm condition, crickets were rated as tasting more pleasant, more desirable, and less disgusting, and intake was greater. The food preparation passage had a small but positive effect on cricket intake. For the first time, this study shows that a descriptive social norm can affect eating behaviour even when a food is disgusting; however, a food preparation intervention cannot overcome high disgust. The pattern of results suggested that expected and perceived taste pleasantness affects disgust. Therefore, taste quality and normalising consumption are targets for promoting acceptance of insects, and probably other novel, sustainable foods.

It tastes OK, but I don't want to eat it: New insights into food disgust

To better understand food-disgust, we investigated the long-standing theory that disgust towards a food causes it to taste 'bad'. To induce disgust, participants were served cookies labelled as containing crickets (Study 1); or served whole crickets versus novel (leblebi) and familiar (peanuts) control foods (Study 2). Participants (Study 1: N = 80; Study 2: N = 90) tasted the foods and rated taste pleasantness, desire to eat, disgust and, in Study 1, 16 taste attributes (e.g., nuttiness). Latency to eat and food intake were included as behavioural indicators of disgust. In both studies disgusting foods were presumed to taste bad, but this was disconfirmed after tasting - disgust did not cause the food to taste bad. Nonetheless, the taste attribute results suggested increased attention towards cricket flavours/textures. Furthermore, desire to eat and intake results suggested that disgust, but not novelty, was associated with reduced food wanting. Even if a disgust-inducing food tastes OK, people do not 'want' to consume it. By offering novel insights into our understanding of disgust, these results may stimulate progress in new avenues of emotion research, as well as informing the development of methods to reduce disgust and increase the acceptance of novel, sustainable, foods. For example, interventions should encourage tasting to overcome negative expectations of taste pleasantness and should tackle low levels of wanting, e.g., by normalising consumption of the target food.

The Potential Future of Insects in the European Food System: A Systematic Review Based on the Consumer Point of View

Edible insects recently gained attention as a potential contributor to the future sustainability of the food system. Insect farming has indeed shown to have environmental and nutritional benefits, but edible insects are still an unusual foodstuff in Europe. The purpose of this article is to analyze the barriers and drivers of insect consumption in Europe and to identify the most promising strategies to convince consumers to include insect-based products in their diets. To answer these research questions, a systematic review of the literature on the consumer's point of view about insects as food was performed. The results show that the main barrier to the development of this market is related to the psychological rejection of consumers induced by disgust toward entomophagy. To break down these barriers, it is essential to increase the general knowledge about the environmental and nutritional benefits of entomophagy. Furthermore, the limited size of the edible insect market appears to be a structural barrier. Expanding the reach of the market and consumer familiarity with edible insects will increase their acceptability. Finally, some product-related strategies are also highlighted. Furthermore, this article brings new knowledge about the effectiveness of the environmental motive in convincing consumers to try edible insects.

Acceptance of Insect-Based Food Products in Western Societies: A Systematic Review

Consuming insects is a possible alternative to meat consumption that has few detrimental impacts on the environment and human health. Whether novel foods made from insects will become established in Western societies in the coming years depends largely on their acceptance by the respective populations. Numerous studies on the acceptance of insects as a novel food have already been conducted. In this systematic review, the main findings of quantitative, experimental, and tasting studies on the acceptance of insects as a novel food are summarized. The present paper is designed to serve as an orientation for practitioners in the food industry and provides information useful for the design of marketing strategies and target group-oriented product development. In addition, we highlight in which fields future studies could be conducted to further improve the understanding of the acceptance of insects as food in Western societies.

Farm to Institution to Farm: Circular Food Systems With Native Entomoculture

Edible insects recycle food waste, which can help feed a hungrier planet by making food systems more circular and diversifying protein production. The potential for entomophagy (i.e., insect cuisine) to contribute to waste recycling and lower input food production is only beginning to be explored in the U.S., although insects have been consumed by people for millennia in a wide range of cultures. In this perspective piece, we consider as a case study the potential for university foodservice programs in New England to serve as incubators for circular entomophagous food systems. Students are likely early adopters of entomophagy because they increasingly demand sustainable non-meat protein options. University foodservices meanwhile purchase large amounts of food wholesale from local producers, utilize standardized pre-processing, and generate consistent waste streams which may be valuable feed for local insect farmers. Current Farm to Institution approaches strengthen regional food systems by connecting small farmers with university foodservices; we argue that a similar model (Farm to Institution to Farm) could support establishment of local insect farms, introduce edible insects to a relatively receptive base of university student customers, and provide a more sustainable mechanism for repurposing university food waste as insect feed. But to enable this type of food system, additional requirements include: (1) research on domestication of native insect species; (2) investment in processing capacity, ensuring new insect farmers have reliable markets for raw insect products; (3) infrastructure to recirculate waste streams within existing food systems; and (4) creation of recipes that entice new insect consumers.

Consumer Perception and Attitude toward Insects for a Sustainable Diet

Simple Summary

In this study, the relationship of a sustainable diet and insect consumption is refined. The main objective is to analyse consumer perception of food sustainability and attitudes towards food consumption and the effect on the environment and their willingness to include insects as a sustainable solution to reduce meat consumption in their diet. These results provide important insights to guide consumers to consider the use of food alternatives and for policy makers. Targeting the right consumers is necessary to create a market for insect-based food. This research contributes to addressing global food security and sustainability through raising the awareness of the benefits of insects as food in the consumers’ minds. Recommendations are included to improve the communication of the advantages of this food type.

Abstract

The main objective of this research paper is to understand consumer knowledge and perception of insects for food. Primary data was collected using a questionnaire conducted in Rome, and the data was analysed using a probit model in order to understand consumers’ attitudes to include insects as a sustainable solution to meat consumption in their diet. We connected the participants with a willingness to consume insects with those that are critical, informed, and concerned about the environment. This study shows that insects’ consumption and social acceptance is very low even for people who have a greater sensitivity to sustainable diets. Suggestions are included to improve the communication of this food type to raise awareness in the consumers’ minds. This research continues the debate on sustainability and global food security.