Non-Wood News 21

EDITORIAL

The editorial for this issue of Non-Wood News has been written by Gillian Allard, Forestry Officer (Forest Protection and Health), who is FAO’s expert on forest pests.

My first experience of insects as a food source was not a comfortable one and has perhaps marked my own non-preference for eating cold-blooded invertebrates. At a tender age, my right of passage to join my brother and friends in their games was to eat caterpillars that had been sliced into colour-coded portions – black and yellow, species did not matter. What did matter is that I was very unwell for some days afterwards, and still was not allowed to play with the boys!

Of the known 1 700 edible insect species I, of course, had eaten a non-edible one that feeds off a poisonous plant. As an entomologist, I now know that bright colours are a warning of unpalatability to predators – not least of all human ones – and that not all insects are edible! Subsequently, my career has taken me to several countries where edible insects form the acceptable staple protein diet source.

Edible insects are an important NWFP and are the focus of the Special Feature in this issue of Non-Wood News. The articles included report on the contribution of edible insects to human nutrition, “insect-tasting sessions”, and the importance of combining traditional knowledge with modern science. The back cover of the issue covers the same theme and highlights the role of edible insects around the world.

In many countries, edible insects are regarded both as delicacies and subsistence food, and not just in times of food insecurity. Children, in fact, are encouraged from a very early age to enjoy both live and cooked insects and to collect them from the forest during peak harvest times. Families move into temporary shelters to be close to insect food sources and some even damage trees and palms to create a suitable environment for their preferred insect.

The majority of countries in Asia, Africa and South America have ingrained knowledge passed on through the generations about the most nutritious insects, and cultural tradition eliminates the need to disguise what is being eaten.

This is far removed from Europe and North America where edible insects have recently received media interest, mainly as a result of the craze for bizarre gourmet foods served with the slight shudder factor; reality TV programmes thrive on celebrities having to eat live insects on camera. Chocolate-coated ants and mealworm-covered toffee apples are some of the gourmet delights available and many restaurants serve insects to tickle the taste buds at hugely inflated prices.

NON-WOOD NEWS

is compiled and coordinated by Tina Etherington, Forest Products and Industries Team of FAO’s Forest Economics, Policy and Products Division. For this issue, editing support was provided by Giulia Muir; copy and language editingby Roberta Mitchell, Anouchka Lazarev and Deliana Fanego; design, graphics and desktop publishing by Claudia Tonini.

Non-Wood News is open to contributions by readers. Contributions are welcomed in English, French and Spanishand may be edited to fit the appropriate size and focus of the bulletin.If you have any material that could be included in the next issue of Non-Wood News for the benefit of other readers,kindly send it, before 15 January 2011, to:
NON-WOOD NEWS – FOEI
FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy
E-mail: [email protected]
www.fao.org/forestry/nwfp/nonwood.htm

FAO home page: www.fao.org