Future Crops: Edible Insects and Alternative Protein Sources

Abstract

Considering its high nutritional value, protein content, and vitamin content, insects can help end world hunger in a sustainable way. However, consumer resistance is a barrier to broad acceptance in Western countries. In discussing the benefits and drawbacks of insects as well as regulatory structures and marketing tactics, the paper highlights the significance of addressing psychological and emotional hurdles. With an emphasis on their potential as a nutrient-dense food source, this article explores the nutritional value, practical characteristics, and bioactive components of several insect species. Examining insect eating from prehistoric times to the present, the article looks at worldwide insect species, their usage as a substitute source of protein, and both conventional and novel techniques for digesting insects and obtaining their nutritious components. In light of consumers' reluctance to develop the industry despite edible insects' ethical status as a dietary alternative, this article examines the possible advantages of ingesting edible insects, including their nutritional worth and environmental effect as a substitute protein source, as well as the regulatory obstacles encountered by the sector. Examining their extraction methods, characteristics, applications and nutritional worth, this article explores alternative protein sources as viable alternatives for proteins obtained from vertebrates. Furthermore, it attracts attention to the positive aspects and limitations of incorporating these proteins into methods of food produce and processing. In this article, the nutritional profiles and processing techniques of edible insects are highlighted as a viable and sustainable food source. By rectifying protein deficits and even acting as a substitute protein source in food formulations, it implies that insects might improve food and nutritional security.