Edible insects: Are crickets and mealworms the future of food security in SA?

702's John Perlman interviews Professor Abdullahi Ahmed Yusuf from UP's Department of Zoology & Entomology.

There is research being done all over the world into the benefits of using insect protein to sustainably feed human beings.

At home, the Department of Zoology and Entomology at the University of Pretoria (UP) is exploring how to rear and harvest what they call 'this food of the future'.

Two insects have been identified as particulary suited for this purpose because they're easy to rear and have a high reproductive rate - the household cricket and the yellow mealworm.

The latter has been used mostly in animal feed until its recent acceptance for human use by the European Union, notes UP's Professor Abdullahi Ahmed Yusuf, also the Humboldt Ambassador Scientist in South Africa.

And while there are cultures in SA that eat insects like the mopani worm for instance, these are generally harvested from the wild.

"Among the reasons we chose these two insects is because the cricket is a nuisance at home, and both are very easy to culture, especially in the lab or on a small scale."

Prof. Abdullahi Ahmed Yusuf, Department of Zoology & Entomology - UP

"We're looking at upscaling the household cricket and the yellow mealworm so that they would also be used as a protein source for humans."

Prof. Abdullahi Ahmed Yusuf, Department of Zoology & Entomology - UP

Acknowledging the resistance many people have to eating insects, Prof. Yusuf says there are ways of getting around this by incorporating flour made from these creatures or protein extracts as opposed to marketing the whole insect.

In answer to a listener's question, Yusuf says he does himself eat insects.

"You have to advocate for practicing what you preach!"

Prof. Abdullahi Ahmed Yusuf, Department of Zoology & Entomology - UP

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the conversation