Most of the protein found in human diets (Western culture) comes from farmed animal meat (e.g. cattle and poultry)
- These animals need to be fed and housed, creating an ecological footprint (size depends on feed conversion ratio)
Sustainable food practices provide food for the consumer while minimising the environmental impact of the food source
- The benefits of lowering food production costs must be balanced against ethical considerations regarding animal treatment
One sustainable food practice currently being explored is the use of crickets as a protein source:
- Crickets have a substantially lower feed conversion ratio than cattle, minimising feed costs
- Crickets require significantly less water to survive than cattle, minimising water usage
- Crickets can reproduce much faster than cattle and require less space
- Crickets produce far less methane than cattle (a greenhouse gas)
For these reasons, certain health professionals are advocating the introduction of crickets into a normal diet
- The advantages of crickets as a food source is still subject to debate however, so implementation is likely to be slow
Sustainable Food Practices – Crickets
