Research covers proposals from the 2030 Agenda and mainly addresses the Sustainable Development Goals (UN, 2015)
Last year, biologist Ana Lúcia Marigo got in touch with some professors from the Faculty of Agricultural Engineering (FEAGRI) at Unicamp with the aim of developing a doctorate on research into simple techniques for creating edible insects that would enable producers in small communities to increase income and consequently improving the social conditions of the families involved. That was when she ended up establishing closer contact with professor Juliana Aparecida Fracarolli, from the area of post-harvest technology at the Faculty of Agricultural Engineering (Feagri) at Unicamp, who promptly expressed interest in supervising her in her doctorate that began in August of the same year. From then on, the idea of insects as an alternative to enriching the diets of these communities also gained ground because, as we know, many of them are rich in several important food components, mainly proteins.
This second possibility met the future interests of the professor who intends to dedicate herself to issues related to hunger and malnutrition that affect poor communities around the world. By the way, she recalls that the research in question covers proposals from the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that emphasize the need for transformative measures in search of real sustainable development for humanity (UN, 2015). The proposal mainly addresses the SDGs that propose to end hunger, guarantee food security and ensure sustainable production and consumption patterns.
As a result of the doctoral theme, the researchers proposed to participate in a workshop offered in the first version of the Science and Art of the Peoples of the Amazon (CAPA) program, which will run for six weeks from mid-January, promoted by the research deans at Unicamp and UFPA (Federal University of Pará) and Santander. CAPA brings 20 UFPA students to the Campinas campus, from indigenous, quilombola, riverside and extractive communities, for internship, research and workshop activities, in addition to enabling these students to come into contact with academic life through teachers, researchers and students. of the University. The program aims to encourage participants to pursue scientific research, involving them in activities in the areas of arts, human, exact and earth sciences, biological and health sciences and technology.
The objective of the workshop in question is to explore insects as an alternative source of food proteins, providing students with the opportunity to learn about their creation, processing and production of foods that use them and which have the potential to become sources of consumption. . During the event, participants heard a theoretical presentation on the concepts involving the consumption and breeding of insects, and participated in practical activities related to the creation, handling, slaughter, hygiene and processing of insects with a view to their use in cooking. They concluded the activities by executing a recipe in which insects are one of the ingredients and at the end they were invited to taste the dish they prepared. “We intend to awaken in these students the interest in taking all this knowledge and making it available in their regions. We hope that this will contribute to food enrichment and generate an alternative source of income for the most needy Amazonian communities, as breeding does not require much technology, enabling them to develop local insect farming and establish new eating habits”, he emphasizes. Juliana.
Concept
The researchers clarify that, although less present in the Western world, the consumption of insects is quite common in Asian and African cultures. Insects have been consumed as a food supplement or as the main constituent of the diet of different people in many regions of the world, including indigenous people, constituting a protein source of great nutritional importance due to the relative quantity of proteins and lipids, as well as being rich in mineral salts, although their consumption are viewed, especially in the West, with great prejudice.
The production of insects for large-scale consumption is a relatively new concept in society and one of the main challenges is the popularization of this alternative source of proteins. As insects can survive in different locations, both in natural and artificial environments, there is great potential for the production of food that causes a low level of environmental pollution, offers high profitability and, above all, requires low investment.
There are several insects that are already part of the cuisine in other countries and even in Brazil, such as the mealworm, a flour beetle, whose larva is used both for feeding reptiles and for human consumption, the cricket, species of cockroaches that are even produced for these purposes. Although ANVISA has not yet regulated their uses for human food, there are insect breeders spread across the country who already use them by hand in the production of animal feed and even chocolates and biscuits for human consumption.
During Ana Lúcia's doctorate, the professor hopes to develop protocols for breeding various types of insects and for the work to produce published articles, enable activities at the university and the creation of extension courses.
Ana Lúcia adds: “We hope that our studies, and others that will certainly be developed in parallel, will offer subsidies so that ANVISA can establish specific regulations for the production of insects for food purposes”. For her, the more research there is on this matter, the more elements the body will have to regulate this production and its use in human food, as activity in this area is already considerable informally in Brazil.
Background
Juliana was invited to go to Japan as a visiting professor at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT), where she was in January 2019, to begin establishing agreements between that institution and Unicamp and teach classes in the country for undergraduate students. and postgraduate studies on Brazilian agriculture. On that occasion, when she had the opportunity to hold meetings with professors and authorities, visit laboratories and learn about research in the agricultural area, it became clear to her the importance of implementing initiatives aimed at zero hunger in the world, as foreseen in the 2030 Agenda .
Ana Lúcia - who, in addition to having a degree in biology and science, has a master's degree in geosciences and specialization in management and environmental management in agricultural systems - had already been invited by professor Ramon Santos de Minas, from the Federal Institute of Mato Grosso do Sul (IFMS), campus de Coxim, given his experience in raising insects, to contribute to the creation of a book designed by him with recipes enriched with insects, designed with the idea of promoting the popularization of this alternative protein. To this end, he sought out people involved in some way with insects (researchers, chefs, teachers, producers, university students) who were interested in collaborating with the development of recipes to compose the publication “Insects in Human Food – Practical Guide to Recipes” , which features more than 150 of them.
The chapter on "Accompaniments and Garrisons" was then under his responsibility. It contains recipes for preparing zucchini stuffed with black cricket; oven-baked rice with mealworms; creamy baskets with nightshades; tenebrio pizza in a cup; rice with lentils and cinerea cockroach; vegetable soufflé and cinerea cockroach; black-eyed peas with mealworms; mushrooms stuffed with black cricket; Spanish tortilla with black cricket; country farofa with ternebrio. The professor's previous works yielded an interesting and enlightening report in Globo Rural (link). Edible insects in the Rural Globe Insect consumption