Insects' Production, Consumption, Policy, and Sustainability: What Have We Learned from the Indigenous Knowledge Systems?

Letlhogonolo Selaledi; Zahra Hassan; Tlou Grace Manyelo; Monnye Mabelebele

doi:10.3390/insects12050432

Insects' Production, Consumption, Policy, and Sustainability: What Have We Learned from the Indigenous Knowledge Systems?

Insects. 2021 May 11;12(5):432. doi: 10.3390/insects12050432.

Authors

Letlhogonolo Selaledi^{1

2}, Zahra Hassan¹, Tlou Grace Manyelo^{1

3}, Monnye Mabelebele¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Agriculture and Animal Health, College of Agriculture and Environmental Science, University of South Africa, Florida Campus, 28 Pioneer Ave, Florida Park, Roodepoort 1709, South Africa.
² Department of Zoology and Entomology, Mammal Research Institute, Faculty of Natural and Agri-cultural Sciences, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, Pretoria 0002, South Africa.
³ Department of Agricultural Economics and Animal Production, University of Limpopo, Sovenga 0727, South Africa.

Abstract

Edible insects can be produced sustainably, with less environmental impact than other forms of livestock. Globally, over 2000 edible insect species have been reported and are regarded as a great source of nutrition, both as food and feed. Over the years, rural people have used indigenous knowledge to either store or process such insects. However, such valuable knowledge, if not properly recorded and documented, can easily be lost. Thus, there is a need to strike a balance between the use of indigenous and scientific knowledge to produce and process these delicacies. In addition, such indigenous knowledge is vital for preserving biodiversity, since insects are good indicators of climate change as it influences their development, reproduction, and survival. Therefore, successful and sustainable solutions may lie in bringing back indigenous knowledge systems.

Keywords: SDG; climate-change; entomophagy; mopane; traditional knowledge.

Publication types

Review