Carleton PhD student Matt Muzzatti found himself living with over a hundred roommates last July, an orchestra of crickets.
The biology student had been studying the diet of crickets over the course of his doctorate studies in hopes of rearing larger crickets that contain more protein, making them a viable—and sustainable—dietary alternative to traditional proteins such as beef and poultry.
When Carleton’s campus was closed, Muzzatti was forced to move his research subjects into his home which lasted from the middle of June 2020 to the end of August.
“I really believe in this industry as an alternative form of protein,” said Muzzatti. “When you look at the facts, the only reason not to eat insects is one’s own personal stigma. They’re extremely healthy for you, they take way less resources than other conventional forms of protein to produce, and they can taste good.”
The research was conducted in collaboration with Entomo Farms, who rear crickets in an attempt “to make cricket-based foods the first choice for individuals interested in high-quality, sustainable protein,” according to its website.
Muzzatti said crickets provide more protein per square-foot of farming space than traditional meats, while using fewer natural resources to do so and emitting less greenhouse gasses.
“Crickets take about one-twelfth the amount of water to rear the same amount of protein as beef, and they take about one-sixth of the feed to produce so it’s a lot less resource intensive,” he said.
Studies show the world population is on the rise, estimated to reach 9.7 billion people by 2050.
“Our current model is not positioned to feed this many people,” said Muzzatti.
Muzzatti said through his research he hopes to uncover the optimal dietary ratio for crickets while keeping costs low.
“You can pinpoint the exact ratio of important nutrients like carbohydrates and protein that will optimize and enhance growth rate per body mass at adulthood,” Muzzatti said. “I’m trying to determine that ratio and then find out what sources of protein and carbohydrates we can use that are cheap that can fit that.”
Members of Carleton’s biology department, assistant professor Heath MacMillan and professor Sue Bertram, are the supervisors assigned to Muzzatti’s research.
MacMillan said while crickets have gained popularity as an edible product in North America in recent years—often in products such as protein powder—this shift has less to do with nutritional benefits and instead relies on a long-standing familiarity with crickets.
“Crickets are a great model. But the entire idea, from my perspective of using crickets, comes out of a long-standing tendency to use crickets in the animal feed industry,” said MacMillan. “So it’s a natural progression if there’s something that’s like crickets, that we’ve been rearing in large numbers for a long time, it’s easy to see how you can scale that up or modify it to be amenable to farming.”
However, convincing consumers to purchase edible insects remains a challenge. MacMillan said many species can be used as protein, but stigma leaves these possibilities untapped.
“One of the biggest barriers to discovering that diversity and scratching the surface is just the stigma that surrounds these things in North American Western culture in general,” said MacMillan.
Jennie Wong, a former member of Carleton’s women’s soccer team and a graduate of the university’s biology program, said she thinks eating crickets could be common in the future..
“I feel like that’s the way with a lot of food trends until there’s a lot of research behind it,” Wong said. “But if people decide that they actually don’t mind the taste of them, I think it could gain popularity.”
Wong added that she’s eaten insects before and didn’t have any problems with it.
“I found that whatever flavoring the insect is flavored with or whatever they cooked it in is what it tasted like, it didn’t really have another taste,” she said.
As an athlete, Wong is cognizant of the impact of proper nutrition on performance. Even with the nutritional qualities of crickets, she still believes they’d be a tough sell.
“It would need a very good marketing strategy,” Wong said.
Featured image by Spencer Colby.
