British government-funded research to explore use of “nudging techniques” to encourage people to EAT BUGS By Laura Harris for Franken Food.news
A government-backed research center in the United Kingdom is set to employ “nudging techniques” to encourage the public to adopt insect-based foods and other alternative proteins in their diets.
The National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre (NAPIC), set to open at the University of Leeds in northern England and funded by U.K. Research and Innovation (UKRI) will explore subtle methods to promote “meat alternatives.”
NAPIC, which secured 23 million British pounds ($30.2 million) in funding from multinational corporations and other businesses eager to enter the insect protein industry, will focus on understanding consumer behavior and attitudes toward alternative proteins, including insect-based foods, plant-based meats and lab-grown proteins. NAPIC seeks to position these products in supermarkets and what marketing tactics might persuade shoppers to try them.
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“We know that consumers won’t buy food that they don’t find appealing or that’s more expensive than their traditional choices,” said Louise Dye from the Institute for Sustainable Food (ISF) at the University of Sheffield. “We also have to be sure that any new alternative proteins are safe and healthy.”
Nudging techniques that subtly encourage people to make specific choices without restricting their freedom have been successfully used in public health. Now, researchers hope to use similar tactics to promote a shift away from animal-based proteins, which the ISF accounts for over 90 percent of protein purchased in U.K. supermarkets.
UKRI Deputy Executive Chair of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council Guy Poppy suggested that understanding the cultural and psychological barriers will help them “design strategies” to “normalize insect proteins and make them more palatable to a wider audience.” (Related: “Green” climate agenda a TROJAN HORSE to destroy the food supply, force everyone to eat BUGS and live under TYRANNY.)
Possible nudging strategies include changing the insect-based foods labeling and marketing strategy, integrating them into familiar dishes, or positioning them next to popular products on store shelves. The center may also experiment with offering small portions in supermarkets, using eye-catching packaging, or promoting the environmental benefits of these alternative proteins.
Public information campaigns and educational programs are also on the table. Researchers will use the consumers’ growing environmental consciousness by highlighting the sustainability of insect-based foods and other meat alternatives.
Moreover, NAPIC will focus on the benefits of alternative proteins to overcome concerns about taste, texture and price. For instance, cricket protein might be introduced as an ingredient in familiar foods like cookies with reduced fat and sugar content.
U.K. gov’t trying to brainwash the public that eating bugs could reduce carbon emissions
The use of nudging techniques aligns with the U.K. government’s broader strategy to cut “carbon emissions” from agriculture by promoting alternative proteins.
In January 2023, the European Commission (EC) approved the use of house crickets (Acheta domesticus) in powdered form as an ingredient for food items like pizzas, pasta-based products, nuts and oilseeds, snacks and sauces, meat preparations and soups, multigrain bread and rolls, crackers and breadsticks, cereal bars, dry premixes for baked products, biscuits and processed potato products, legume- and vegetable-based dishes, whey powder, maize flour-based snacks, beer-like beverages and chocolate confectionery.
Aside from this, the EU’s food regulator also approved the powder production process, which begins with a 24-hour fasting period for the crickets. The insects are then frozen, washed and thermally processed. The resulting product is then processed again to remove oils and then transformed into dried-up powder.
