Changing Food in a Changing World: Assessing Compliance to Insects, Cultivated Meat, and Soil-Less Products Among Italian Undergraduates

<b>Background/Objectives</b>: In recent decades, the need for sustainable alternatives to traditional foods for the global population has become urgent. To this aim, edible insects, cultivated meat, and vegetables produced through soil-less farming have been proposed. This cross-sectional study was aimed at exploring willingness to eat these novel foods and its possible correlates in young Italian adults. <b>Methods</b>: An electronic questionnaire was administered to the student populations of 13 universities throughout the Italian territory. <b>Results</b>: The results show that insects and cultivated meat were widely acknowledged as possible food, while soil-free cultivation seems to be less known. Indeed, the percentage of participants who have heard of insects, cultivated meat, and soil-free cultivation was respectively equal to 91.5%, 84.7%, and 32.9%. However, the majority of respondents were uncertain about the sustainability of all the proposed products (52.6% for insects, 39.5% for cultivated meat, and 58.0% for soil-free cultivation, respectively), and the propensity to try and eat insects (9.5%) was lower than that declared for synthetic meat (22.8%) and products from soil-free cultivation (19.2%). However, the regression analysis showed that the propensity to eat these foods regularly is positively related to the confidence in their sustainability (<i>p</i> < 0.001). Willingness to try each of the proposed foods positively correlated with that declared for the others (<i>p</i> < 0.001). <b>Conclusions</b>: These findings highlight the need to implement interventions aimed at increasing awareness about the use of these products as alternatives to less sustainable foods and the importance of identifying consumer groups to which these interventions should be addressed.

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Publication Details

Journal
Nutrients
Published
2025-03-05
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17050909
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Insect Utilization and Effects
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
3.34
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article

Changing Food in a Changing World: Assessing Compliance to Insects, Cultivated Meat, and Soil-Less Products Among Italian Undergraduates

Osvalda De Giglio, Laura Dallolio, Patrizia Calella, Giacomo Scaioli et al.
2 citations
Nutrients
Insect Utilization and Effects
3.34
article

Changing Food in a Changing World: Assessing Compliance to Insects, Cultivated Meat, and Soil-Less Products Among Italian Undergraduates

Osvalda De Giglio, Laura Dallolio, Patrizia Calella, Giacomo Scaioli, Gabriella Di Giuseppe, Cesira Pasquarella, Stefania Paduano, Aida Bianco, Federica Valeriani, Alice Masini, Chiara de Waure, Christian Napoli, Andrea Di Cataldo, Lavinia Bianco, Pasqualina Laganà, Vincenzo Romano Spica, Licia Veronesi, Concetta Arianna Scicchitano, Francesco Triggiano, Francesca Licata, Francesca Gallé, Ivano Pindinello, Carmela Protano, Michela Persiani, Roberta Siliquini, Annalisa Bargellini, Isabella Marchesi, Jole Del Prete, Maria Teresa Montagna, Maria Eugenia Colucci, Rossella Sacchetti, Giovanna Paduano, Concetta Paola Pelullo, Stefania Oliva, Giuseppe La Spada, Salvatore Borzì
article en
2 citations

Abstract

<b>Background/Objectives</b>: In recent decades, the need for sustainable alternatives to traditional foods for the global population has become urgent. To this aim, edible insects, cultivated meat, and vegetables produced through soil-less farming have been proposed. This cross-sectional study was aimed at exploring willingness to eat these novel foods and its possible correlates in young Italian adults. <b>Methods</b>: An electronic questionnaire was administered to the student populations of 13 universities throughout the Italian territory. <b>Results</b>: The results show that insects and cultivated meat were widely acknowledged as possible food, while soil-free cultivation seems to be less known. Indeed, the percentage of participants who have heard of insects, cultivated meat, and soil-free cultivation was respectively equal to 91.5%, 84.7%, and 32.9%. However, the majority of respondents were uncertain about the sustainability of all the proposed products (52.6% for insects, 39.5% for cultivated meat, and 58.0% for soil-free cultivation, respectively), and the propensity to try and eat insects (9.5%) was lower than that declared for synthetic meat (22.8%) and products from soil-free cultivation (19.2%). However, the regression analysis showed that the propensity to eat these foods regularly is positively related to the confidence in their sustainability (<i>p</i> < 0.001). Willingness to try each of the proposed foods positively correlated with that declared for the others (<i>p</i> < 0.001). <b>Conclusions</b>: These findings highlight the need to implement interventions aimed at increasing awareness about the use of these products as alternatives to less sustainable foods and the importance of identifying consumer groups to which these interventions should be addressed.

NutrientsVol. 17(5)
University of Messina (IT), University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (IT), Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale “Amedeo Avogadro” (IT), University of Parma (IT), Parthenope University of Naples (IT), University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli" (IT), Foro Italico University of Rome (IT), University of Perugia (IT), Magna Graecia University (IT), University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli" (IT), University of Turin (IT), University of Bari Aldo Moro (IT), Sapienza University of Rome (IT), University of Bologna (IT)
Openalex Percentile: Top 11%
Insect Utilization and Effects
3.34
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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