{"id":55321,"date":"2021-11-01T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-01T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/?p=55321"},"modified":"2023-01-26T13:49:36","modified_gmt":"2023-01-26T18:49:36","slug":"amid-food-supply-climate-change-woes-women-entrepreneurs-sell-edible-insects-kelp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/amid-food-supply-climate-change-woes-women-entrepreneurs-sell-edible-insects-kelp\/","title":{"rendered":"Edible Insects, Kelp Still a Tough Sell, Even as Climate Change Affects Food Supply"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Recipes look … a little different for these women entrepreneurs. But their products could play a big role in combating future food supply issues. (Credit: 3 Cricketeers’ Facebook page<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Climate change<\/a> is expected to have catastrophic consequences on food supplies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ever-warming temperatures, rising sea levels<\/a>, more erratic weather patterns and increasing amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere all pose long-term risks to the health of crops, livestock and fish<\/a>, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. And the Covid-19 pandemic has further hurt the farm-to-consumer supply chain<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This food shortage problem could come to a head sooner than one may think, and on a global scale — a U.N. report<\/a> predicts that \u201cchildren who are born in today’s world will not have reached graduation age before these problems will have materialized, unless immediate action is taken.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While much of the onus for making change rests on the shoulders of corporate giants — by far the largest contributors<\/a> to the climate chaos problem — experts say individuals can do their part, in part, by switching to plant-based diets that have “low environmental impacts” and would “help reduce greenhouse gases,” according to Colin Binns, lead researcher of a 2021 study<\/a> on climate change and food security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there are other alternatives out there — if one\u2019s mind can be opened. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Skittering Future of Food<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N. has, for years, posited that eating insects — a centuries-old practice called entomophagy that more than a quarter<\/a> of the world\u2019s population still engages in — could and should figure big<\/a> in our meal plans. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\n \n 6 Ways Women Entrepreneurs Can Go Green With Their Companies\n <\/a>\n <\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n

For starters, insect farming causes far less environmental damage than, say, cattle farming. It takes about 10 percent<\/a> the amount of water, land and feed to raise insects for consumption as it does to raise beef, and emits about 1 percent the amount of greenhouse gasses. It\u2019s also a healthy, protein-rich alternative to other meats, as many edible insects contain high levels<\/a> of iron, fiber, omega-3 fatty acids and other nutrients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Western food philosophies — some might call them prejudices — have kept entomophagy from taking hold in places like the U.S., where bugs are viewed first as filth, not food. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent years, a number of entrepreneurs in the nascent edible insect industry have attempted to break through with products like coconut mealworm brittle or molasses cricket cookies. But many have faced significant difficulties. In the U.S., \u201cpeople don\u2019t have the culture of eating insects,\u201d says Monica Martinez, founder of San Francisco bug-based snacks maker Don Bugito<\/a>. She was born and raised in Mexico, where entomophagy has \u201cbeen a part of my culture for centuries.\u201d Here, however, it\u2019s a different story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Claire Simons of cricket flour and dessert seller 3 Cricketeers<\/a> has faced similar obstacles. \u201cWe\u2019re still learning our true customer,\u201d the co-founder of the St. Louis Park, Minnesota, company admits. Those who have traveled to places like Thailand and Mexico \u201cunderstand and know this is just what [much] of the world eats \u2026 as a form of protein. Nothing weird, nothing strange,\u201d she adds. \u201cBut even with the pandemic, with people stuck at home making their health \u2018number 1,\u2019 and with climate change in their face,\u201d getting customers to place orders can be tough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Some women entrepreneurs are trying to find success – and save the world in the process – by selling alternative snacking options. (Credit: 12 Tides<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, there\u2019s almost no discussion around food alternatives like kelp<\/a> — a nutrient-dense type of seaweed whose production actually improves water quality. \u201cWe want to get people eating more kelp — it\u2019s so good for the oceans, and us. But you don\u2019t see it on dinner plates [in the United States] very much,\u201d says Lindsey Palmer, co-founder of 12 Tides<\/a>, which makes and sells kelp-based snacks out of their Bay Area headquarters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Road Ahead<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

There is, however, some good news: younger consumers are increasingly interested in alternative eats, say all three entrepreneurs. In general, millennial and Gen Z buyers are statistically more inclined to adopt more ethical<\/a> spending and living habits. And there\u2019s hope of gaining traction, with edible insects projected to generate revenues in the neighborhood of $8 billion<\/a> by 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there\u2019s a big competitor to the insect market to consider: the alternative-meat industry, where companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods are offering plant-based options without an \u201cick\u201d factor to market through. And talk about growth — it’s projected that the alternative-meat industry will be worth roughly $290 billion<\/a> by 2035.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those companies also largely get to avoid dealing with tricky regulatory concerns — a particular pain point for Palmer. \u201cKelp farming is still a new-ish industry in the U.S.,\u201d she says, with only a few states able to legally participate. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to get a kelp farm off the ground, even if there\u2019s kelp there.\u201d For now, they have a roster of small, independent farmers in places like Maine who provide 12 Tides\u2019 signature ingredient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Insect sellers grapple with similar problems. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration essentially only discusses insects<\/a> as they pertain to the quality of other foods we eat. And while some of their regulations can be applied to insects intended for human consumption, there are also state and local guidelines<\/a> to follow, which can be overwhelming for a fledgling business. Simons says she’s enlisted the help of experts at the University of Minnesota, as well as her environmental lawyer husband, to navigate the systems in place, while Martinez calls upon her architectural and design expertise to properly house and raise her mealworms and crickets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then there\u2019s the matter of cost. Due to a lack of ready availability of signature ingredients, food products made with insects and kelp are relatively expensive — especially since they are predominantly sold as snacks and desserts, rather than meal substitutes. A single 1.5 oz. pouch of the aforementioned mealworm brittle from Don Bugito costs $6.99. Those cricket cookies from 3 Cricketeers will run you about $6 as well. A four-pack of kelp chip bags from 12 Tides costs $20. None of those prices include shipping and handling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mealworms as a meal? These women entrepreneurs hope you’ll consider the possibility. (Credit: Don Bugito<\/a>)<\/mark><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And when your most interested, engaged demographic are younger consumers who are paid less money<\/a> — and spending less money<\/a>, as such — that becomes yet another significant hurdle to overcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting the Word Out<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Still, the founders we spoke with say they\u2019ve achieved varying degrees of success in terms of growth — Don Bugito has been able to employ 4 staffers; 3 Cricketeers has expanded into a 3,500 square foot warehouse with a commercial kitchen in-house; 12 Tides completed its first fundraising round<\/a> last year — as well as in their larger aim of trying to save the world, one potentially eyebrow-raising snack at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTen years ago, [Americans] didn\u2019t even have any idea that [so much] of the world eats insects,\u201d says Martinez of Don Bugito, who recently rolled out DIY kits<\/a> for whipping up chocolate-covered crickets at home, in a bid to make eating insects even more a part of American family life. At the same time, there is still much work to be done. \u201cPeople still don\u2019t make that relationship\u201d between what they eat and how it impacts the environment, Martinez says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 3 Cricketeers, Simons agrees. \u201cRight now, I feel like it\u2019s a lot about education, and a lot of rehabilitation of the product,\u201d she says. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to get that out to the public, so they can really see that [insects are] something they need to be eating.\u201d As a registered nurse, Simons primarily works the health angle of edible insects via blog entries<\/a> about crickets\u2019 gut-boosting benefits and smoothie-centric Instagram posts<\/a> to boost sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Staying on-message and solution-oriented<\/a> — as well as positive — is also critical to getting folks to open up to alternative food options, adds Palmer. \u201cWe\u2019re not just talking about the destruction of the oceans — we\u2019re thinking about how we can change that,\u201d she says of 12 Tides\u2019 approach. People \u201cdon\u2019t just want to hear about how we\u2019re destroying the planet, and ourselves. We want to know how we can get past this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Entrepreneurs who make bug snacks, kelp chips and cricket flour say their products offer a solution. People just need to buy them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":55335,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"autoblue_enabled":false,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[],"autoblue_post_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[187],"tags":[20278,19483,19683,20543],"class_list":["post-55321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","tag-climate-change","tag-eco-friendly","tag-entrepreneurship","tag-sustainable-food-practices"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAmid Food Supply, Climate Change Woes, Women Entrepreneurs Sell Edible Insects, Kelp<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Entrepreneurs who make bug snacks and cricket flour say their products offer a solution. 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