Photo by AlejandroLinaresGarcia, CC BY-SA 4.0-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

At the 2016 International Congress of Entomology, which will be held September 25-30 in Orlando, Florida, there will be an amazing set of 28 speakers who will tackle not just one, but four complex issues that some call wicked problems.

Florence Dunkel

These speakers from nine countries (Brazil, Thailand, India, China, Japan, USA, England, Israel, and Canada) will address a viable answer to water shortages, climate change, land use/deforestation, and global food security.

The answer? Insects for food and feed.

Entomophagy — the eating of insects — will be discussed during three different symposia:

1) An Emerging Food Supply: Edible Insects

2) Industrialization of Insects as a Food Ingredient

3) Sericigenous Insects and 3F’s: Fibre, (Human) Food and Feed-Global Status, and Future Role in Resolving Global Challenges

Insects are the original high-density source of nutrients that led to human development, and are unquestionably one thing that humans need to remain on earth. Entomologists have called on their colleagues, leaders from industry, government, anthropology, psychology, hydrology, toxicology, food science, and education.

Don’t miss the engaging and inspiring speeches of Sonny Ramaswamy, Director of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture; Paul Rozin, University of Pennsylvania, leader of world-renowned research in alleviating the disgust factor; Pat Crowley, hydrologist, shark tank winner, president of the Chapul company, producer of one of the most delicious cricket bars marketed worldwide; and several microbiologists and toxicologists who will provide the most recent information on safety and regulations.

Learn from Chinese, Japanese, and Indian experts about one of the world’s oldest farming industries, the by-product of which is insect protein. Hear about commercial insect farming in Mexico and Thailand, and about the worldwide edible insect biodiversity waiting to be utilized.

If you prefer to see the film introduction to this serious and delicious way to save the rainforests and our water supply, come see screenings of two new documentaries from Canada and Zimbabwe before each of the symposia at noon each day on September 26, 27 and 29 in Room W222 A of the Orange County Convention Center.

Bug Appetit!

For more information, contact:

Dr. Florence V. Dunkel
Montana State University
Co-Convener of the Entomophagy and Entomology in Popular Cultural Section of the 2016 International Congress of Entomology 2016
fdunkel@montana.edu
cell and text 406-451-9343

Florence Dunkel is an associate professor at Montana State University and is the editor-in-chief of the Food Insects Newsletter. Her research focuses on the use of plant-based natural products for insect management, particularly those related to postharvest ecosystems.