Balancing Science and Law In Considering Entomophagy As Future Food in Malaysia

• Published in: AIP Conference Proceedings
• Main Author: Jayabalan S.
• Format: Conference paper
• Language: English
• Published: American Institute of Physics Inc. 2023
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85178018132&doi=10.1063%2f5.0178736&partnerID=40&md5=d803d257f44e408fe0773eb3bdd48167

Mother earth is running out of food resources as the human population increases. Consequently, by 2030, there is a need to produce food for an additional two billion people. However, food production from agriculture and livestock rearing is taking a toll on the environment. Meat production for example requires extensive farmland usage. Extensive farmland usage consequently involves land clearing that causes various damage to the environment. Instead, entomophagy or eating insects should be considered as a substitute food source that is maintainable and nutritious. Contrast to livestock, insects have minimal resource requirements regarding feed, land resources, and water. Entomophagy is also friendly to the environment because insects' carbon footprint is negligible compared to conventional livestock. The environment thus benefits from breeding insects. Malaysia, a tropical country that houses variety of insects ought to consider entomophagy to overcome food insecurity. However, if humans are to eat insects, prudence calls for scientific evidence on the safety of entomophagy and proper regulative measures to authenticate entomophagy to be fit for human consumption. Applying qualitative methodology and comparative analogy as the research design, this article discourses the need for scientific evidence with proper regulatory measures if entomophagy is considered the way forward in Malaysia. Scientific validation emphasized in the European Union and the regulative efforts undertaken in the Republic of Korea are benchmarked for best practices. © 2023 American Institute of Physics Inc.. All rights reserved.