Insects: protein of the future?

A pioneering research center for investigating the best ways to farm and cook certain insects has been opened at the National University of Laos in Vientiane as part of broader national plans to tackle food insecurity, SciDev reports.

The FAO-sponsored project aims to help formalize insect farming as a food industry nationally and abroad, looking especially at how they can be cost-effective, appetizing, and food safe.

Insects are nutritious and heavily consumed in many developing nations already, according to the FAO. Scientists at the Wageningen University of the Netherlands also recently discovered their farming could reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.