36th Annual Student Research Conference
De-stigmatizing Entomophagy
Iva L. Welbourne*, Rebecca C. Freitas, DeAndre L. Malone, and Jonathan W. Lee
Dr. Michael Seipel, Faculty Mentor
Entomophagy can play a key role in meeting food security needs while mitigating the impacts of intensive agriculture. Consumers in the United States are often unaware of or averse to the idea of consuming insects (Gahukar, 2011). Researchers surveyed students, faculty, and staff at a public, four-year University in the Midwest (n=166). Respondents were asked about their experience with insect consumption and the strength of association with entomophagy descriptors. They were asked to watch a short video about the benefits of entomophagy, or watched a live presentation of the same information, and then completed the attitudinal questions about entomophagy again. Results were analyzed using STATA. We infer from the results that our presentation increased the association of insect protein with positive words and also effectively decreased their association with negative words. Further studies should determine approaches to improve the effectiveness of education in destigmatizing entomophagy in Western societies.
Keywords: insect, education, protein, environment, mealworm, entomophagy, sustainability, agriculture
Topic(s):Agricultural Science
Environmental Studies
Biology
Presentation Type: Poster Presentation
Session: 4-9
Location: Student Union Building Activities Room
Time: 3:00