Birgit Anika Rumpold

Within modern culinary education, education on sustainable development is essential for vocational students. Using the example of sous vide, its suitability for addressing sustainability in culinary education was investigated as well as the extent to which it is currently implemented in Germany. Therefore, the literature on potential environmental, social, economic and health impacts of sous vide was reviewed and its current implementation in German culinary educational materials was analyzed. The literature review revealed a number of sustainability aspects of sous vide. Despite being covered in textbooks, it is not brought into a sustainability context. Moreover, existing sustainability concepts for the gastronomy sector neither identify environmental conditions as a basic requirement for any socio-economic activity nor illustrate interdependencies and trade-offs between different sustainability dimensions. Therefore, the sustainability concepts and culinary teaching and training materials currently used in German culinary schools do not support the development of a systemic understanding and multi-dimensional engagement in the training of future chefs.

Within modern culinary education, education for sustainable development is essential for vocational students. Using the example of sous vide, its suitability for addressing sustainability in culinary education was investigated as well as to which extent it is currently implemented in Germany. Therefore, literature on potential environmental, social, economic and health impacts of sous vide cooking was reviewed and its current implementation in German culinary educational materials was analyzed. The analysis revealed a number of sustainability aspects of sous vide. Despite being covered in textbooks, it is not brought into a sustainability context. Moreover, existing sustaina-bility concepts for the gastronomy sector neither identify environmental conditions as a basic requirement for any socio-economic activity nor illustrate interdependencies and trade-offs between different sustainability dimensions. Hence, currently in Ger-many available sustainability concepts and culinary teaching and training materials do not support the development of a systemic understanding and multi-dimensional engagement when training future chefs.

Insects and their derivatives are increasingly recognised as a (more) sustainable and circular protein source for feed and food. The European insect industry is growing, but upscaling remains a challenge due to multiple uncertainties. This study analysed the robustness of three different business models for insect production for feed and food in six future scenarios. Business models and scenarios were identified through literature review and refined through expert elicitation (n = 5). The three business models comprised: (1) full-liner black soldier fly production for pet food , (2) decentralised black soldier fly production for aquafeed , and (3) mealworm processing cooperative for food . The six scenarios addressed uncertainties around the use of side streams, insect welfare, energy, and sustainability. We used the Business Model Stress Test in four focus groups with experts (n = 23) from six European countries. Heat maps for three distinct business models were presented, detailing the impacts of scenarios on business model components. Experts regarded full-liner black soldier fly production for pet food and mealworm processing cooperative for food as more robust than decentralised black soldier fly production for aquafeed . These differences were mainly related to the customer segments , value proposition , revenue structure , and cost structure . In full-liner black soldier fly production for pet food , stringent regulations were expected to have no negative impact on business model components, in contrast to liberal regulations with anticipated adverse effects. Examination of regulatory uncertainty indicated strict legislation’s advantageous expected impact on consumer trust in the pet food and food market. High energy prices were anticipated as a major challenge across all business models, while improved sustainability compliance was viewed positively. The classification in relatively more or less robust business models serves as a guide for business and policy in further developing the insect sector for feed and food in Europe.

Purpose: Objective of this study is the valorisation of mass rearing waste of fruit flies from sterile insect technique facilities by black soldier flies into high quality and quantity products as a sustainable utilisation concept. Methods: Different ratios of medfly rearing waste in hen feed were used for rearing black solder fly (BSF) larvae. The growth rate and insect survival were determined. Moreover, the mass gains were determined and bioconversion rates were assessed. Furthermore, the nutritional compositions of BSF pupae were analysed to evaluate the product quality. Results: The omnivorous BSF larvae were highly efficient at converting digested waste into body mass as compared to the control treatment (hen feed). High weight of pre-pupae was recorded for all experimental diets. The efficacy of larvae to reach pupae ranged from 92.5 to 98.5%, while the efficacy of pupae to reach adults ranged from 81.7 to 89.0%. All experimental diets exhibited high rates of prepupal weight, metabolism and efficiency of conversion of digested food. A nutritional analysis revealed that the protein and fat contents were high, while the bioaccumulation of heavy metals was low, Conclusion: Medfly rearing waste is a potential feed ingredient for the production of BSF pre-pupae and could be applied to valorise this rearing waste into high-value feed. Graphical

Edible insects are considered a promising nutritious, sustainable alternative protein source for feed. The effect of black solder fly (BSF), Hermetia illucens meal on growth performance, heat stress-responses and heat shock protein (HSP70) gene expression in sexed Japanese quail were assessed. The quails were fed on three different diets containing 100% soybean meal (diet A), 50% soybean and 50% BSF meal (diet B) and 100% BSF meal (diet C). Results revealed that overall live body weight, the relative weight of carcass, heart, liver, spleen, bursa of Fabricius, small intestine and sex organs of Japanese quail were significantly increased for diet B and C as compared to diet. The interaction of dietary treatment and heat stress had a significant effect on the diet A group's live body weight, the relative weight of carcass, and measured organs, whereas the diet B and diet C groups had no or the least effect on their traits. Investigating HSP70 gene expression with heat stress exposure in control diet A was 13.215. While, the diet B was expressed of 8.487 with the HSP70 gene. Moreover, the gene expression of the birds fed on diet C were 3.203, respectively. Our findings point to a beneficial role for BSF meal as a quail feed in improving growth performance and combating the negative effects of heat stress exposure on bird growth.

A growing number of studies underline consumers’ concerns about the importance of animal welfare as a general concept for consumers’ purchase decisions. In particular, consumers perceive animal husbandry to be one of the most important aspects of animal welfare. Since intensive livestock production is criticized across society, the acceptance of current intensive production systems of edible insects is an issue of investigation. Criteria of insect welfare might differ from vertebrate welfare. One might argue that it is difficult to define standards for insect welfare due to their large diversity in living environments and feed requirements. In addition, it is debated whether insects are conscious and suffer from pain. It has been demanded to rear insects preferably under natural living conditions and some researchers proposed to consider them as sentient beings. Basic welfare and ethical aspects of insects as food and feed include species-specific mass rearing conditions and euthanasia, i.e., killing procedures. Consumers’ opinions and concerns regarding this issue have hardly been considered so far. In this paper, the animal welfare of prevalent livestock is defined and outlined, and relevant criteria are transferred to insect welfare. Different ways consumers might arrive at an animal welfare understanding are discussed, along with an overview of the few consumer studies on insect welfare. Furthermore, we consider how insects are presented in the public discourse and infer how this might be relevant to consumers’ perceptions of insect welfare.

Over the last decade, the urgency to find alternative and sustainable protein sources has prompted an exponential increase in the interest in insects as a human food source. Edible insects contribute suitable amounts of energy and protein, fatty acids, and micronutrients to the human diet. Nutritional values of insects can be manipulated to meet specific needs. Edible insects in food-insecure countries can contribute to improving diets and preventing undernutrition. Bioactive compounds in insects may reduce health risks. Food safety risks are low and mainly relate to those of allergenicity. Strategies to overcome barriers to the consumption of insect products include emphasizing their sustainability, increasing their tastiness, and developing the ability to disguise insects in familiar products. A new sector of insects as food and feed is emerging. Major challenges include legislation, lowering prices by automation and cheap substrates, developing insect products that appeal to consumers, and exploring the health benefits.

Children in tropical countries have always eaten insects but are now often discouraged from doing so. Recently, the idea of the consumption of insects has been re-introduced as an answer to malnutrition since edible insects are a potential alternative and sustainable protein and food source. However, in countries where the consumption of insects is not traditional, there is a lack of acceptance as well as skills when it comes to preparing a meal with insects. Examples of experiments from different parts of the world are given, where children in schools are educated about the nutritional and environmental benefits of eating insects. In general, after the experience, children are more positive about the idea of eating insects. It is stipulated that insects as food could be a very good entry point for the discussion about our future food supply. Furthermore, with the increasing commercial production of edible insects, there is an increasing demand for skilled workers in the insect production industry. Essential to the promotion of insect consumption are the development of curricula and educational materials for vocational education, training of insect farmers, and general education in primary and secondary schools as well as tertiary education.