Project description
A recipe for edible insect production
Edible insects are regarded as a potential solution to addressing the needs of a growing human population, but there are technical and cultural limitations. Technical constraints can be addressed using existing methods from the biological sciences. Understanding how various conditions impact the quantity, nutritional quality, safety, and sustainability of insect production is crucial. The gut microbiome plays a pivotal role in the viability of animal food production. Recognising this, the EU has invested EUR 1.4 billion to explore these aspects further, particularly in vertebrate systems. The MSCA-funded EvoCricks project will study the connection between microbiomes and insect production for human consumption. It uses wild crickets to determine the optimal rearing conditions for edible cricket production.
Objective
The production of edible insects is often presented as a solution to the current environmental and food security challenge of feeding a growing human population, but faces major technical and cultural limitations. While cultural limitations can be overcome by convincing people about the importance of shifting our diets to a more sustainable one, many technical limitations can be overcome by using existing methods and theory from the biological sciences. In this regard, it is critical to understand how a variety of biotic and abiotic conditions affect the quantity, nutritional quality, safety and sustainability of insect production. It is currently recognised that the gut microbiome plays a fundamental role in driving the viability of animal food production, with the EU recently investing 1.4 billion into exploring this relationship further in vertebrate systems. However, I argue there is almost certainly also a strong association between microbiomes and the production of insects as a food resource, hence the focus of my application. Using wild crickets of the commonly farmed species Acheta domesticus, this project aims to decipher the relationship between the environment, microbiome composition, and the nutritional quality (essential nutrients) of edible insects as human food. The knowledge gained from wild animals will be contrasted to controlled experimental results to dissect the production conditions that best reflect the findings from the field. This project will provide key insights about the best quality wild populations in Europe and the corresponding optimal laboratory/industry rearing conditions that maximise edible cricket production and quality.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- medical and health sciences health sciences nutrition
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology entomology
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
1165 KOBENHAVN
Denmark
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.