Americans’ acceptance of black soldier fly larvae as food for themselves,their dogs,and farmed animals

This paper investigates consumer attitudes towards Hermetia illucens larvae (aka Black Soldier Fly Larvae; BSFL) and other insects in two forms: dried whole insects and insect flour incorporated into a familiar food. In two studies, we assessed the willingness of American adults to try eating them directly, eating animals fed on them, and feeding them to their pet dog. Participants were significantly more willing to try food made with insect flour than to eat the whole insects, with the same pattern emerging for acceptability of insects in dog food. BSFL were roughly as acceptable as other insects (crickets, mealworms, ants). On average, participants had negative attitudes towards eating BSFL on their own, but the majority were willing to try foods containing BSFL in the form of insect flour or rendered fat. There are also suggestions in the data that indirect routes of consumption (e.g., consuming animals that have eaten insects, or feeding insects to one’s dog) are more acceptable than direct consumption. Our results suggest that BSFL are relatively well-received by consumers and are a promising alternative to the farmed animals more commonly used in pet food.     

We will eat disgusting foods together – Evidence of the normative basis of Western entomophagy-disgust from an insect tasting

Insects are a highly sustainable and nutritious source of protein, and, thus, incorporating insects in to Western food culture is one way to address major global challenges like global warming and deforestation. Consumer studies show, however, that Westerners’ willingness to eat insect-containing food is low. One formidable barrier is the perception that insects are disgusting, and it is generally believed that this insect-disgust is driven by a fear of contamination and disease. Another barrier is the lack of social norms related to entomophagy in the West. In the present study, we tested effects of fear of contamination and perceived social eating norm with a survey and a tasting session administered to a Danish college sample (N = 189). Correlation analyses and multivariate regression analyses revealed that selfreported trait-level Pathogen Disgust and Perceived Infectability did not consistently predict insect eating disgust, willingness to eat insects, or actual insect tasting behavior in the tasting session. In contrast, perceived insect eating norm emerged as a significant predictor of insect tasting behavior. These findings suggest that perceived social norms play a substantial role in Westerners’ (un)willingness to eat insects. The result gives reason for optimism for aspirations of introducing insects in Western food diet and point to avenues for harnessing social norms in marketing efforts.     

Disgusting or delicious? Examining attitudinal ambivalence towards entomophagy among Danish consumers

Current meat consumption habits will need to change, especially those of Western consumers. The level of meat consumption is unsustainable, and a recent study estimates a necessary reduction of 90% of the current intake. Insects are a promising alternative to existing protein sources, but previous literature has emphasised the initial level of disgust displayed towards insects as a food option. The overall aim of this paper is to understand the attitude of consumers towards eating insects, also termed entomophagy, in order to outline the barriers that prevent adoption and provide insights in order to overcome these. Data were collected through an online questionnaire with a representative sample of Danish consumers (n = 975). Several constructs from the literature were measured: food neophobia, disgust, intention to try and intention to eat regularly. In addition, a new attitude scale was used, that specifically measures the attitude towards entomophagy. A discrete choice experiment was a part of the questionnaire. Using LatentGold 5.1 a segmentation analysis based on the choice experiment was conducted. The influences of intention were analysed using hierarchical regression in SPSS 25. Results of the choice experiment indicate that different segments of consumers of entomophagy exist, and that different segments are interested in different types of insects. Younger consumers and males are more positive towards entomophagy in general and the insect options in the choice experiment. Results of the regression analysis indicate that the attitude toward eating insects is multidimensional and that there seem to be indications of attitude ambivalence in all segments. The interest in entomophagy is important, as it will be a key factor in overcoming the barrier of disgust and turning insects into an acceptable food choice in the Western world.     

Insects as food: Exploring cultural exposure and individual experience as determinants of acceptance

Edible insects have attracted much Western interest in recent years due to their nutritional and environmental advantages. Consumers, however, remain aversive towards a class of items that is not traditionally considered to be food. While the focus is often on the Western disgust, looking at consumer perceptions in a culture that considers insects to be delicious could provide new insights into the psychological and cultural mechanisms that underpin these evaluations. This cross-cultural qualitative study explores how cultural exposure and individual experience contribute towards the contrasting evaluations of insects as food by those who do and do not eat them. Eight focus groups were conducted across two cultures—four in Thailand where insects are part of the local food culture, and four in the Netherlands where insects are generally not recognised as food. Within these cultures, two groups consisted of individuals who have experience with eating insects, and two groups consisted of individuals with little or no experience with insects as food. Cultural exposure created expectations of which species were more appropriate to eat and how they should be prepared, whereas individual experiences determined whether judgements were made based on memories of past eating experiences or based on the visual properties and item associations. This study provides insights into the acceptance and rejection factors of unfamiliar food items and identifies the factors to be considered when introducing novel food items that are not yet culturally acceptable as food.     

Acceptance of insects as food in Germany: Is it about sensation seeking,sustainability consciousness,or food disgust?

This study examines the acceptance of insect-based foods by consumers in Germany. The nationwide online survey (N = 516) focused on which factors have the greatest influence on the willingness to consume an insect burger and buffalo worms. In addition to sociodemographic factors, meat consumption and the “classical” variables in the field of entomophagy (familiarity, previous insect consumption, food technology neophobia and food neophobia), the study focuses in particular on the previously unconsidered variables sensation seeking, sustainability consciousness and food disgust. A total of 41.9% of the participants were willing to consume an insect burger. In contrast, only 15.9% of the participants were willing to consume the buffalo worms – a principal ingredient of the insect burger. Hierarchical multiple regressions showed that food disgust was the most important predictor for the acceptance of edible insects, followed by previous insect consumption, food neophobia, gender, sensation seeking and food technology neophobia. The high influence of food disgust shows that not only the explicit disgust for insects is decisive for the consumer readiness of insect-based products, but also the domain specific disgust for food. Despite the strong sustainability awareness of our participants, and contrary to our expectations, sustainability consciousness did not prove to be a significant predictor for the willingness to consume insects. Implications for marketing strategies and educational interventions will be discussed.     

The influence of product preparation,familiarity and individual traits on the consumer acceptance of insects as food

Insects are highly valued as food in many cultures but have only recently gained interest in the West as a sustainable alternative to reduce the environmental impact of meat production. Despite the growing consumer interest in insect consumption, there is still a great disparity between curious trying and actual acceptance. The aim of this study was to examine how the product preparation, familiarity and individual traits (e.g. food neophobia) influence the consumer acceptance of insects as food. Dutch consumers (n = 976) evaluated 8 mealworm product images on 4 acceptability measures (product appropriateness, expected sensory-liking, willingness to buy, willingness to try). Product images varied according to mealworm visibility (visible/invisible), carrier flavour (savoury/sweet) and carrier origin (Western/Asian). High product acceptability was not simply achieved by adding mealworms to familiar foods. Acceptability depended very much on the perceived appropriateness of mealworms as food and the perceived appropriateness of the product combination. However, mealworm products were always expected to be inferior to the carrier products, even when visually identical. Familiarity with mealworms and individual traits played a relatively minor role, and influenced the willingness to try more than the other acceptability measures. We conclude that appropriate product design is important but insufficient to achieve consumer acceptance of insects as food in the West. Additional incentives are required to encourage acceptance beyond the mere willingness to try. We discuss the complexities underlying the consumer acceptance of insects as food and reflect on how acceptance might be increased in the future.     

Attitudes and acceptance of young people toward the consumption of insects and cultured meat in Germany

The present study examined the willingness of children and adolescents (N = 718, M_Age = 13.67, SD = 2.31; female = 57.5%) from Germany to consume insects and cultured meat. One focus of the study was the comparison of attitudes toward foods made from insects and cultured meat in general and in a specific form (a burger). Another focus was analyzing the influence of selected nutritional-psychological factors on the willingness of children and adolescents to consume these products. In addition to sociodemographic factors (age, sex), meat consumption, familiarity, attitudes, food neophobia, and food disgust were included as variables. The study participants showed a significantly higher willingness to consume the cultured meat burger than the insect burger, although no difference could be shown in their attitudes toward the alternatives as food (i.e., irrespective of their form of preparation). Hierarchical multiple regression revealed that the attitude toward the alternative protein product in burger form, specifically, was the strongest predictor for the willingness to consume both burger alternatives. This illustrates that the attitudes of children and adolescents toward a particular product are especially important. The negative influence of food neophobia on the willingness to consume the meat alternatives, which had previously been reported in other studies, was confirmed in this study. In the regression model with the sociodemographic variables, food disgust showed a negative influence on the willingness to consume the two meat alternatives; however, this negative influence was not detected after including the nutritional-psychological variables in the model. Proposals for the use of the results of this study in designing marketing strategies and educational interventions in schools are presented.     

The relationship between disgust sensitivity and BMI: Is the food disgusting or am I?

Core disgust is a negative emotion, comprised of disgust in response to food, animals, and from the body itself (and its products). Individual differences exist in the level to which people experience the emotion of core disgust. Sensitivity to disgust has been associated negatively with Body Mass Index (BMI) in overweight and obese people, and to eating disorders independently from BMI. This study investigates the relationship between disgust sensitivity and BMI by examining data from the Italian Taste Project (n = 2317). We hypothesized that the relationship between disgust sensitivity and BMI, after accounting for age and gender, may be mediated by other factors, such as 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) sensitivity or eating restraint, and that this relationship might differ in non-obese and obese individuals. Results showed that the relationship between sensitivity to disgust and food behaviors is complex and differs between obese and non-obese people. Two mediation models were considered. In the first case restrained eating acted as a mediator of disgust sensitivity in the prediction of BMI, while in the second one BMI acted only as a partial mediator of disgust sensitivity in the prediction of restrained eating. This suggests that heightened sensitivity to core disgust may be associated with a heightened sensitivity to self-disgust, motivating restrained eating behaviors when BMI is higher, but only in non-obese individuals.     

The relationship between disgust sensitivity and behaviour: A virtual reality study on food disgust

This study was the first to use virtual reality for disgust research and pursued two aims. First, we explored whether it was possible to induce disgust in a virtual environment. Second, we examined the relationship between food disgust sensitivity, presence (a psychological state of “being there”), and participants’ willingness to eat a food item after exposure to a virtual disgust cue. We asked 100 participants to eat chocolate and complete a tasting experiment within a virtual environment while wearing a head-mounted HTC Vive device. The control group (n = 50) saw a piece of chocolate appear in the virtual environment on a table in front of them before being asked to take and eat it. The disgust group (n = 50) saw a dog that walked across the table and stopped halfway to produce dog faeces that looked like a piece of chocolate. Subsequently, participants were asked to eat a real piece of chocolate. In both groups, participants were given the opportunity to refuse consumption. Participants in the experimental condition were more likely to refuse consumption than those in the control condition. Furthermore, in the experimental condition, we found that physical presence mediated the relationship between participants’ food disgust sensitivity and willingness to eat the chocolate. Our data suggested that virtual reality is a valid way to evoke disgust for the purposes of research and that people who are disgust sensitive have more difficulty ignoring virtual disgust cues than people who are less disgust sensitive.     

Eating in the dark: A dissociation between perceived and actual food consumption

Objective: According to folk intuition “Eye appeal is half the meal,” raising the question how the absence of vision or ‘visual flavor’ affects food perception, willingness to buy, and food intake. Method: In the present experiment, ninety students were assigned to either a blindfolded or a non-blindfolded condition and completed a bogus ice cream taste test. Taste perceptions and purchase willingness were assessed during tasting, and actual and perceived intake, afterward. Results: Blindfolded participants rated the ice cream lower on hedonic but higher on ambiguity taste attributes. Although eating without vision led to a lower purchase willingness and a 9% decrease in the actual intake, blindfolded participants overestimated their intake by 88% while non-blindfolded overestimated their intake only by 35%. Conclusions: Thus, depriving participants of visual input dissociated perceived intake from actual intake. Shifting attention toward interoceptive cues of eating may provide unobtrusive and naturalistic means to change eating experiences.     

Looks like chicken: Exploring the law of similarity in evaluation of foods of animal origin and their vegan substitutes

Eighty omnivorous college students (four groups of 20) given chocolate milk, macaroni and cheese, chicken tenders and meatballs, or vegan substitutes for those four foods, were told either that they were eating the animal products or vegan substitutes. We expected the subjects who were told that they were eating vegan foods to rate those foods as less familiar and therefore expected them to be less willing to try them. We also thought that the subjects would expect those foods to taste worse and be more dangerous and disgusting, particularly the “flesh foods” and their vegan substitutes (chicken tenders and meatballs). Prior to eating the products, no difference was found in ratings of familiarity, willingness to try, anticipated distaste, danger, or disgust between those subjects shown the products of animal origin and those shown the vegan substitutes for those products nor between subjects told they were viewing animal or vegan products. However, there were differences between the meatball and the other foods on these measures regardless of what they were told about them (animal or vegan). All meatballs were rated as less familiar and more disgusting than the other foods and more dangerous than the chicken tender. Subjects expected the meatballs to taste worse than the other foods and were less willing to try them. Once they tasted the products, they rated the taste of the foods they were told were vegan better than those they were told were of animal origin. Vegan products that resemble animal products are responded to similarly to their animal counterparts as predicted by the law of similarity, one of the laws of sympathetic magic.     

Food of the Future? Consumer Responses to the Idea of 3D-Printed Meat and Insect-Based Foods

3D printing technologies are beginning to be employed to fabricate new food products. One of the more unusual and potentially controversial adoptions of this novel food technology involves the use of laboratory-cultured meat or insect-based ingredients to support ethical consumption, food security, and environmental sustainability initiatives. In this article, we discuss findings from our study involving an online discussion group with Australian participants concerning their attitudes to a novel technology that combined new food processing and presentation devices (the 3D printer) with a range of ingredients. The participants recognized the potential benefits of insect- and cultured-meat-based printed food for society. However, their own priorities for food consumption choices centered more on the qualities of health, taste, and naturalness. We found that overall, few participants articulated interest in or support for consuming or serving 3D-printed food products made from cultured meat or insects. Most expressed their disquiet about the degree of processing cultured meat undergoes. It was considered to be “unnatural,” and therefore not fresh, potentially harmful, lacking taste or not nutritious. Most of the participants also expressed antipathy towards the idea of eating printed products containing insects. While such products were considered more “natural” and nutritious than cultured meat, the idea of eating insects was predominantly greeted with disgust. As these findings suggest, plans to use 3D printing technologies to render ingredients such as cultured meat and insects more acceptable and appealing to consumers in countries like Australia have major cultural barriers to overcome.     

Acceptance of insect-based food in Chile: Evidence from a survey using the entomophagy attitude questionnaire (EAQ)

Research interest in the acceptability of insects as food has dramatically grown in recent years. Investigators have studied the antecedents of people willingness to eat whole insects, processed (non-visible) insects, and insect-fed animals as well. Another important topic is the difference between intention to try insect-based foods once, and readiness to adopt these foods in everyday diet. In 2020, the Entomophagy Attitude Questionnaire has been developed as a tool for researchers in this area. It is the only one self-report questionnaire specific to entomophagy, multi-dimensional, and cross-validated in diverse contexts and languages. The current study contributes to further validate this instrument in Spanish, in a novel context such as Chile, and to expand its nomological validity to intention to eat processed insects. In addition, results show that the three components of the EAQ significantly predict participants’ intention to try insect-based foods and, to a lesser extent, intention to add insect-based food in one own’s diet. Limitations of the study, as well as direction for further research are discussed in the paper.     

Food neophobia and willingness to try non-traditional foods for Koreans

Non-traditional ethnic foods are a new category of foods that have not been experienced by consumers. The objective of this study was to investigate the attitudes of consumers toward the familiarity and willingness to try non-traditional foods by food neophobia level, as well as to determine the relationship between non-traditional ethnic food experiences and food neophobia in Korea. Food neophobia was measured by the Food Neophobia Scale (FNS). The mean FNS score among Koreans was 33.5 (SD = 9.0). The high food neophobia group was less likely to have experiences with non-traditional foods in comparison to the low food neophobia group. Food neophobia significantly predicted the familiarity and willingness to try various non-traditional ethnic foods. Among the 12 non-traditional ethnic foods, the participants had the least familiarity and willingness to try African and Mongolian foods. In terms of the level of willingness, Vietnamese, Indian, Thai, Mexican, Turkish, Greek, Mongolian, African, Japanese and Italian foods showed significant differences among the food neophobia groups but Chinese and American foods did not. This study was a first and meaningful attempt to validate FNS in Asia for the delineation of consumer responses of various non-traditional food products.     

Encouraging sustainable insect-based diets: The role of disgust,social influence,and moral concern in insect consumption

Disgust, social influence, and moral concern seem to play a pivotal role in insect consumption. Research examining these factors, particularly in the UK, is currently lacking. As a result, two studies were conducted to examine the perceived barriers and benefits of insect consumption, and how disgust can be counteracted. First, a cross-sectional study (N = 600) showed that disgust and moral concerns were unique predictors of individual’s willingness to consume insect products. Second, we conducted an experiment (N = 519) to examine whether knowledge that someone else consumes an insect-based product impacts one’s own willingness to consume insects. In this study we replicated Hartmann, Ruby, Schmidt, and Siegrist (2018) methodology of giving information about an insect consumer but added details about the individuals’ occupation and what type of product they consumed, examining how these factors impacted individual’s willingness to consume insect-based products. We found that this information did not impact willingness to consume; however, it did influence feelings of disgust and perceived acceptability. This study also replicated the first study by demonstrating that disgust and moral concern are barriers to insect consumption. We hope the current findings trigger future research to examine how disgust can be counteracted, and to better understand the role of moral concern in insect consumption.     

Psychometric evaluation of the German version of the Variety Seeking Tendency Scale (VARSEEK)

As part of a healthy diet, guidelines recommend eating a variety of foods to reduce risks associated with malnutrition. However, whether people follow this recommendation substantially depends on their willingness to try unfamiliar foods, also referred to as food neophilia. This study aimed at comprehensively validating the German version of the Variety Seeking Tendency Scale (VARSEEK), a common instrument to assess food neophilia. Two independent sub-studies were conducted to examine the German VARSEEK’s psychometric properties. Study 1 (N = 532, aged 18–91 years) and Study 2 (N = 468, aged 18–73 years) each comprised a German community sample. Data were collected both online and via a paper–pencil version. Whereas Study 1 included an EFA, Study 2 comprised a CFA, analyses of the VARSEEK’s reliability and construct validity, and different explorative group comparisons. EFA and CFA results supported the original scale’s unidimensionality. Internal consistency (α = .93) and test-retest reliability (r = .87) of the scale were high. VARSEEK scores were positively associated with openness, sensation seeking, and extraversion and negatively associated with food neophobia, general neophobia, and trait anxiety. Construct validity was further established by showing positive associations with ratings of familiarity with and willingness to try familiar and unfamiliar foods. Whereas group comparisons revealed no significant differences for sex, age, and weight status, analyses showed that people who belonged to the upper class were more food neophilic than those assigned to the lower and middle class. Findings further underscore that the German VARSEEK is a reliable and valid instrument for the assessment of food neophilia in the German population.     

Disgust,sushi consumption,and other predictors of acceptance of insects as food by Americans and Indians

Insects are an important human food source, especially in developing countries, because of their efficiency at converting plant foods into animal protein, and their relatively low environment impact. The present study builds on some prior research on eating insects by surveying Indian and American adults. A composite measure of insect acceptance is developed. The results confirm prior findings that Americans are more accepting of insects as a potential food than Indians, and that men are more accepting than women. Substantially more Indians than Americans consider insect ingestion a violation of a protected/sacred value, suggesting a moral objection. Attitudes to and beliefs about insects and insect consumption are decomposed through factor analysis into the same five factors in both countries: Benefits, Risks, Disgust, Religion, and Suffering. Multiple regression indicates that for Americans, Disgust is the major predictor, followed by Benefits. For Indians, the best predictor is Benefits, followed by Disgust and Religion. In both countries, frequency of sushi consumption (a food commonly met with disgust when it was first introduced) is also a significant and substantial predictor of insect acceptance.     

Food-related contextual factors substantially modify the disgust response

Faeces-shaped chocolate fudge has been shown to evoke a significant disgust reaction. However, methodological issues inherent in the original study have impeded our understanding of this striking phenomenon. In the present experiment, photographs of objects from one of four categories—edible (e.g., chocolate), inedible (e.g., jumper), disgusting (e.g., faeces) and mixed (e.g., chocolate shaped as faeces)—were presented to 105 participants. Ratings were collected of (1) general disgust elicited by the objects and (2) the level of disgust elicited by considering the objects as potential food items. Disgust ratings across the four categories were higher on the food scale than on the general scale. ‘Inedible’ items were rated much more highly than the ‘mixed items’, confirming that an alternative explanation for the disgust reaction to faeces-shaped chocolate can be framed in terms of the unexpectedness of the item as a potential foodstuff, which leads to a neophobic response.     

How innovativeness relates to social representation of new foods and to the willingness to try and use such foods

The relationship between domain specific innovativeness scale (DSI) and social representation (SR) components of new foods (suspicion of new foods; adherence to natural food; adherence to technology; eating as an enjoyment; eating as a necessity) was explored in a survey with Finnish consumers (N = 1156). Both DSI and SR were used to predict willingness to try/use new foods, categorized into six subgroups of which three were functional (cereal-based and otherwise functional foods; functional drinks), and the remaining three categories were modified dairy products, organic products, and energy drinks. Enjoyment and low suspicion predicted 27% of variation in DSI, which, in turn, predicted up to 6% of willingness to try categories of new foods, excluding organic products. When added to the predictive model, SR components increased the prediction of all food categories, particularly functional cereal-based and organic products (up to 20.4%). Thus, DSI predicted willingness to try new foods to some extent, but SR components, most of all low suspicion of new foods and adherence to natural food, significantly improved the prediction.     

Cross-national comparison of the Food Disgust Picture Scale between Switzerland and China using confirmatory factor analysis

The Food Disgust Picture Scale (FDPS) is a newly developed picture tool that can be used to conduct cross-cultural assessments of food disgust sensitivity. It consists of eight food-related pictures, which participants rate according to the level of disgust they evoke. Due to the undeniable influence of culture on what individuals consider as disgusting, the FDPS’s validity across different food cultures is an interesting topic for research. The aim of the present study was to conduct a cross-national comparison of the FDPS in Switzerland and China. In total, 576 participants were recruited in China and 538 were recruited in Switzerland. The usability and construct validity of the FDPS were compared between the two countries using confirmatory factor analyses. In the current study we present two main findings. First, dropping one of the meat-related items and thereby reducing the eight-item FDPS to seven items improved the model fit in the Chinese (CFI = 0.98) and Swiss (CFI = 0.98) samples. Furthermore, it showed that the scale is a valid tool for the assessment of food disgust sensitivity in China. Second, using nested model comparisons, the present study has provided support for the model’s invariance across the two countries.