Brazilians’ perspectives on the possibility of future insect consumption

Abstract Eating insects has become an important prerequisite for addressing the present and future issues of the scarcity of protein sources for human nutrition in accordance with sustainability goals, and, in this scenario, Brazil is a very promising location for insect production. In this context, the study’s goal was to search how Brazilian consumers thought about entomophagy in relation to food neophobia, the value of producing edible insects for the environment, nutritional considerations, and potential political barriers to insect production and commercialization in Brazil. The study included food neophobia scale (FNS), the projective technique (PT) and focus groups (GF). The FNS, a scale developed according to the literature, and the TP, which employed the process of completed sentences, combined in an online form, 469 individuals were reached. A total of 18 individuals participated in three online discussion sessions for the FG, debating five open-ended questions regarding the themes of the study. The findings show that among the Brazilians surveyed, the correlation between food neophobia (FNS) and propensity to eat insects (PT) indicated that aversion it is a psychological barrier brought on directly by the idea of eating whole insects. Therefore, participants believe that in order to reduce insect neophobia, insects should be used as ingredients in products without sacrificing the food’s ultimate technological or sensory properties. Insect farming was viewed as a sustainable alternative with high nutritional value, and it was believed that the media could significantly affect the values and choices of consumers related to this point. Participants come to the conclusion that in order for items containing insects to be bought, they must be affordable, practical, tasty, and sustainable. Participants concluded by saying that both the public and private sectors have a responsibility for developing this novel sector in Brazil while guaranteeing safe regulations for production, trading, and consumption.