The answer to feeding the world’s growing population? Bugs, according to experts at the 2015 Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting & Food Expo.

Currently, approximately 70% of agricultural land - and 30% of total land on earth is used to raise livestock. If we’re going to feed 9 billion-plus people in 2050, our eating habits will need to change.

“Insects require less feed, less water, less land and less energy to produce and their production generates substantially lower environmental pollutants, such as pesticides and greenhouse gases.

Eighty-five insect species in the US are documented as potential food sources; worldwide, there are 1900 species.  locusts, grasshoppers, crickets, silk moth pupae, beetle and moth larvae are among the top insects consumed as food around the world.

Western cultures’ aversion to the use of edible insects as a food source is a serious issue in human nutrition. But it’s the way forward into a sustainable world environment.

 insects are a great source of high-quality, highly digestible protein. “Some insects are as much as 80% protein by weight and provide more essential amino acids than most animal proteins, They are also rich in nutrients and omega-3 fatty acids.