E.M. Costa-Neto. 2015. Anthropo-entomophagy in Latin America: an overview of importance of edible insects
E.M. Costa-Neto. 2015.
Anthropo-entomophagy in Latin America: an overview of the importance of
edible insects to local communities.
Journal of Insects as Food and Feed: Vol. 1, No 1: 17-23.
http://www.wageningenacademic.com/doi/pdf/10.3920/JIFF2014.0015
http://www.wageningenacademic.com/doi/pdf/10.3920/JIFF2014.0015#d75e74
http://www.wageningenacademic.com/author/Costa-Neto%2C+EM
E.M. Costa-Neto
Department of Biology, Laboratory of Ethnobiology,
Feira de Santana State University,
Av. Transnordestina, s/n Novo Horizonte,
CEP 44030-900, Feira de Santana,
Bahia State, Brazil
Abstract.
Anthropo-entomophagy
has evolved in many ways, from the point of view of collection, marketing and
consumption, and for the insects' organoleptic qualities. Brazil, Colombia,
Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, and Mexico due to their sociocultural origin, stand
out as the Latin American countries that have the habit of consuming insects by
presenting both a biological and an ethnic diversity. Edible species are eaten
both as immature (eggs, larvae, pupae, and nymphs) and in some cases as adults.
They are ingested whole or in parts, as well as in the products they produce,
such as honey, propolis, pollen, and wax. Many insect species are consumed not
only as food but also as medicine, and this provides a relevant contribution to
the phenomenon of zootherapy, as well as opening new prospects for the economic
and cultural valorisation of animals usually regarded as useless. The ingestion
of a variety of edible species contributes to the nutritional health of
indigenous, traditional peoples, as well as those individuals who live in urban
areas who use this kind of food resource, in accordance with their seasonal
abundance. Some field studies corroborate that although the tradition of eating
insects has faced several changes, it has been maintained for a long time thanks
to intergenerational knowledge. However, the aversion to edible insects is the
reason why a considerable amount of animal protein becomes unavailable since the
phenomenon is regarded as "primitive peoples" practice. If the rich
biosociodiversity found in Latin American countries is taken into account, then
it can be said that the phenomenon of anthropo-entomophagy has been
underestimated. Considering the nutritional qualities that insects have, they
should be considered as renewable resources available for sustainable
exploitation aiming at reducing the problem of malnutrition and hunger in many
parts of the world.
