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Edible Insects MOOC

Published at 1920 × 1080 in Curious About Edible Insects? There’s a Free Online Course for That

Screenshot from Edible Insects online course, with professor Matan Shelomi, Ph.D., pictured at right from the waist up, wearing a red shirt with text "NTU / National Taiwan University / EST. 1928." At left is an infographic titled "Feed required per 1kg protein:". Below the title are dark gray icons of livestock above feedbag icons corresponding to the listed amounts of feed for each: cow, 25-30 kg; pig, 7-10 kg; chicken, 4-5 kg; fish, 4-5 kg; grasshopper, 2.1 kg; and mealworm, 1.8 kg. At the bottom is a bracket spanning the width of the graphic with text "1kg of pure protein."

The first-ever massive open online course (MOOC) on edible insects was launched in March, based on a popular university course at National Taiwan University led by entomologist Matan Shelomi, Ph.D. The course consists of six modules of 12 short lectures each, covering a wide range of topics relevant to insects as food or feed. Questions discussed include: Are insects really that eco-friendly, or are there hidden costs and assumptions? Are they medicinal? Safe? Vegan? Kosher? Who are the people currently eating insects, who is selling to them, and how much money are they making? (Image by National Taiwan University Center for Teaching and Learning Development & Digital Learning Center)

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