This lecture has students think deeply about what influences our ideas of “food,” challenging their previously held assumptions. Why do we eat some animals and not others? Why some parts of animals and not others? We will then introduce the concept of eating insects specifically, and a basic overview of Diffusion of Innovations theory, which will be applied throughout the course when discussing why insect eating has or has not been adopted in different parts of the world.

This lecture provides a broad overview of traditional and modern edible insects from around the world, and how these are changing with time.

In this lecture, students will learn and analyze the environmentalist argument in favor of eating insect protein, and debate the ethical issues of insect consumption. Students will also learn about the nutrition and safety of edible insects. By the end, students should be able to make a fact-based decision on whether eating insects is acceptable for them, and justify their choice.

This lecture broadly covers techniques for rearing some of the most commonly farmed edible insects, both for human food and as animal feed, and the socioeconomic reasons why farming technology is so important.

This lecture looks at post-production aspects of edible insects. How are insects prepared, cooked, processed, and packaged? Who are the target market for edible insects, and what are the best marketing strategies to reach them? Finally, the lecture looks at the legal aspects of edible insects.

This lecture covers insect products outside of directly eating insects as food. This includes both edible and inedible insect products, insect services, and insects as medicine. By the end, students will appreciate the diverse roles insects play in human industry.