National Taiwan University

Edible Insects

Taught in English

Some content may not be translated

2,063 already enrolled

Course

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals

Matan Shelomi

Instructor: Matan Shelomi

4.9

(16 reviews)

Beginner level

Recommended experience

14 hours to complete
3 weeks at 4 hours a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace

What you'll learn

  • Think critically about why we eat certain things and not others, and the cultural influences that shape these views.

  • Describe and evaluate the arguments driving the edible insect movement.

    Know examples of edible insects and other insect products worldwide.

  • Be able to apply Diffusion of Innovations theory to food-related innovations.

  • Understand in what directions the edible insect field is going, and perhaps decide what role they want to play in it.

Details to know

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Assessments

6 quizzes

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There are 8 modules in this course

Hello, everyone! Welcome to Edible Insects! This English language course covers the science and sociology of insects as food and feed. Increasing media, investment, and public policy attention has been given over the years to the role insects may play in the future of food. Can eating insects really save the world from famine and environmental destruction? Are there health costs or benefits to adding insects to the diet? Will all people accept insects as food? Can we feed them to livestock? Should we be promoting edible insects at all, and if so, how best do we do it? What species will we eat and how shall we raise them? This class examines all aspects of edible insects, with students taught a broad but thorough overview of the field and asked to consider questions in class about what role they think insects will play in their own food futures, and why they think this way.

What's included

1 video1 reading

This lecture has students think deeply about what influences our ideas of “food,” challenging their previously held assumptions. Why do we eat some animals and not others? Why some parts of animals and not others? We will then introduce the concept of eating insects specifically, and a basic overview of Diffusion of Innovations theory, which will be applied throughout the course when discussing why insect eating has or has not been adopted in different parts of the world.

What's included

12 videos2 readings1 quiz1 discussion prompt

This lecture provides a broad overview of traditional and modern edible insects from around the world, and how these are changing with time.

What's included

12 videos1 reading1 quiz

In this lecture, students will learn and analyze the environmentalist argument in favor of eating insect protein, and debate the ethical issues of insect consumption. Students will also learn about the nutrition and safety of edible insects. By the end, students should be able to make a fact-based decision on whether eating insects is acceptable for them, and justify their choice.

What's included

12 videos2 readings1 quiz2 discussion prompts

This lecture broadly covers techniques for rearing some of the most commonly farmed edible insects, both for human food and as animal feed, and the socioeconomic reasons why farming technology is so important.

What's included

12 videos2 readings1 quiz

This lecture looks at post-production aspects of edible insects. How are insects prepared, cooked, processed, and packaged? Who are the target market for edible insects, and what are the best marketing strategies to reach them? Finally, the lecture looks at the legal aspects of edible insects.

What's included

12 videos1 reading1 quiz2 discussion prompts

This lecture covers insect products outside of directly eating insects as food. This includes both edible and inedible insect products, insect services, and insects as medicine. By the end, students will appreciate the diverse roles insects play in human industry.

What's included

12 videos1 quiz2 discussion prompts

What's included

2 readings2 peer reviews

Instructor

Instructor ratings
4.5 (9 ratings)
Matan Shelomi
National Taiwan University
1 Course2,063 learners

Offered by

Recommended if you're interested in Environmental Science and Sustainability

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4.9

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5

Reviewed on Sep 26, 2023

DD
5

Reviewed on Sep 20, 2023

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