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Eating insects instead of beef could help tackle climate change by reducing harmful emissions linked to livestock production, research suggests.
Replacing half of the meat eaten worldwide with crickets and mealworms would cut farmland use by a third, substantially reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, researchers say.
While consumers' reluctance to eat insects may limit their consumption, even a small increase would bring benefits, the team says. This could potentially be achieved by using insects as ingredients in some pre-packaged foods.
Using data collected primarily by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, scientists have compared the environmental impacts of conventional meat production with those of alternative sources of food. It is the first study to do so.
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh and Scotland's Rural College considered a scenario in which half of the current mix of animal products is replaced by insects, lab-grown meat or imitation meat.
They found that insects and imitation meat -- such as soybean-based foods like tofu -- are the most sustainable as they require the least land and energy to produce. Beef is by far the least sustainable, the team says.
Read more here. (Eureka Alert)
Replacing half of the meat eaten worldwide with crickets and mealworms would cut farmland use by a third, substantially reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, researchers say.
While consumers' reluctance to eat insects may limit their consumption, even a small increase would bring benefits, the team says. This could potentially be achieved by using insects as ingredients in some pre-packaged foods.
Using data collected primarily by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, scientists have compared the environmental impacts of conventional meat production with those of alternative sources of food. It is the first study to do so.
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh and Scotland's Rural College considered a scenario in which half of the current mix of animal products is replaced by insects, lab-grown meat or imitation meat.
They found that insects and imitation meat -- such as soybean-based foods like tofu -- are the most sustainable as they require the least land and energy to produce. Beef is by far the least sustainable, the team says.
Read more here. (Eureka Alert)
