Psychological rejection and disgust of insects means they are unlikely to reach mass adoption in western markets, a new study has found.
Consumer acceptance of edible insects faces significant barriers including psychological, taste, culture and price.
The study, ‘Beyond the Buzz: Insect-based Foods are Unlikely to Significantly Reduce Meat Consumption’, suggested that these barriers undermined the assumption that farmed insects have the potential to replace traditionally farmed meat as a source of dietary protein.
The research, authored by a team of academics from the UK, US and Europe, evaluated the likelihood of insect-based foods replacing meat from farmed animals when compared with alternatives like plant-based proteins and lab-grown meat.
“Despite many years spent encouraging consumers towards more sustainable meat alternatives, insects have struggled to move beyond the so-called ‘yuck’ factor,” said Dr Dustin Crummett, co-author of the report. “Beyond the Buzz finds that high levels of disgust along with a number of economic and cultural barriers are too big an obstacle for the farmed insect market to overcome.”
The study notes that the successful inclusion of any product into western diets depends on a number of factors, but the most crucial is the willingness of consumers to try a product.
Analysis of earlier research on consumer acceptance rates of alternative proteins indicates the highest acceptance is for plant-based meats, with a reported ‘willingness to try’ reaching up to 91%.
Farmed insects, however, showed the lowest acceptance of any alternative proteins with reported ‘willingness to try’ routinely scouring in the 20% region.
The main barrier to market acceptance of farmed insects is “the psychological rejection experienced by consumers, predominantly feelings of disgust,” the report found.
The report also found that being more environmentally friendly than meat was not enough to persuade consumers to substitute insects into their diet.
The research found that even when insects are processed into powders or incorporated into familiar foods, western consumers remain resistant.
“Our research suggests that this is unlikely to change in the future,” added Crummett. “Policymakers, investors and organisations working to improve the environmental and health impact of western diets should consider that other meat alternatives may have a better chance of long-term acceptance by consumers.”
This comes as edible insect company Yum Bug made the decision to “wind down” operations last month as it failed to deliver returns needed to be sustainable.
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