Heritage, local knowledge and innovation: Insect consumption in Latin America – LATINSECT

In this project, social scientists performed participant observation and semi-structured interviews about the gathering, food processing, trade, and consumption of insects, with people who collect, cook, and consume insects in their home and/or for commercial purposes. They conducted research on commercial supply chains and place where live and processed insects are sold and displayed (markets, restaurants, food fairs).

Entomologists and ethnobiologists collected samples, especially of insects not previously identified or correlated with different species. The entomologists identified them themselves or sent them to taxonomists specializing in these species. Bar-coding identifications were conducted for a few species, along with physicochemical analyses. Such analyses were also performed on processed insect-based products.

The project clearly highlighted the contrast between different countries regarding the perception of insect consumption—whether it is valued or viewed negatively. The challenge of heritagization was raised as well as the issue of sustainability, in connection with overexploitation and environmental changes. The project also shed light on the structure of the trade, for which no data previously existed, and demonstrated the diversity of culinary preparations and ongoing innovations. New edible species were identified, and new physicochemical analyses were conducted, some of which focused on processed products. In parallel, an experiment in beetle larva farming is currently underway in Ecuador.

The project members organized a conference session and presented 32 oral presentations and 5 posters at conferences. Findings have been published on issues of identity, heritage, the local knowledge of collectors, environmental and territorial changes, and physicochemical content (7 articles and 3 book chapters). . A database has been established and will continue to be updated.

The researchers of the project will strengthen their network and maintain their international partnerships. The researchers hope to continue and expand this research, which will depend on securing new funding.

The database of edible insects in Latin America will keep being updated by all project partners.

Publications resulting from this joint research are still expected, particularly an edited book. To facilitate its development, a workshop is scheduled for September 2026 in Paris, with the support of the Sorbonne University Food Initiative.

The collected data, results, photos and videos will be used in outreach activities for a wide audience. It will start with the October 2026 Science Festival on « taste and science ».

Results will be presented in the communities where fieldwork was conducted over several weeks.

Following the current study, weevil larvae farms will be implemented in the Ecuadorian Amazon

The objective of this project is to study, in a systematic comparison, focusing on traded species consumed both in rural and urban areas, the representation of insect consumption in different multicultural Latin American countries. It also questions how, at a local level, gathering, processing, trade and consumption of insects may constitute a biocultural heritage and, at a wider level, which actions of heritagization involving edible insects are taking place or not. Eventually, how does this consumption reveal tensions between social classes and ethnic groups? By analyzing environmental and culinary knowledge, threats on insects’ environment and nutritional quality of insects, it finally aims at valuing this heritage, supporting local stakeholders in their practices and co-constructing knowledge to respond to food issues for the future.