A new book has been published on the use of insects as a sustainable source of protein which includes a chapter co-written by Minerva Director, Rhonda Smith.

The chapter, written jointly with PROteINSECT Project Coordinator Elaine Fitches, focuses on the work of this 3-year EU-funded project which examined the use of insects as a sustainable source of protein for animal feed and human nutrition. Bringing together expertise from China, Africa and Europe, the project had 12 partners in seven countries and was coordinated by the Food and Environmental Research Agency (FERA).

Minerva led on international media communications for PROteINSECT as well as the development of the Pro-Insect Platform across Europe – engaging with policy, industry and farming stakeholders to drive legislation and regulation change enabling the inclusion of protein from insects into animal feed. The first regulation change came into force in July 2017 enabling insect protein into feed for farmed fish. For more information about the project watch this short film.

Rhonda said: “As a company, Minerva is committed to sustainability so we’re pleased to have had the opportunity to work on the PROteINSECT project to help address the need for more sustainable sources of protein in both human food and animal feed.”

The new book, called ‘Edible Insects in Sustainable Food Systems’, provides an overview of the contributions of edible insects to ecological sustainability, livelihoods, nutrition and health, food culture and food systems around the world. It is published by Springer International Publishing and is available via the company’s website at https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319740102

Caption: Farmers in Mali inspect dried insect larvae for animal feed