Translated by: Hannelore Van de Calseyde Checked by: Peter van de Ven
I am passionate about insects for two reasons.
First, I am wild about the endless diversity
of these little creatures.
30 million – not insects, but species.
We say that people invented the wheel.
But dung beetles have already produced bulbs of manure
long before we even thought of walking upright.
“People developed compost.”
Ants already developed compost
long before any ecologist thought about doing this on his balcony.
And if you thought we invented air conditioning,
you’re completely wrong.
Termites were of course for us.
And insects can serve as thermometers.
May I introduce you to the crickets.
The more noise they make, the higher the ambient temperature.
It varies, of course, by species, but it is reasonably accurate.
And these are just facts about four different insects.
Just think: this time 30 million.
Unbelievable.
(Laughter)
In addition, insects are good.
(Laughter)
That is the second topic that I wanted to talk to you about.
(Applause)
When I was 11 years old,
I ate a burger in a fast food restaurant.
A child approached me and said:
“Did you know that burgers are made from insects?”
Wait a second. Are insects edible?
Later I discovered that insects in hamburgers were a myth,
but at the time it kept me busy and I started to do research.
In reality, not all insects appear to be edible,
but they have a lot of advantages.
They create more food compared to agriculture and animal husbandry
on less surface and with fewer raw materials.
A cow needs about 1 hectare of meadow.
In contrast, insects do not need more space than they occupy themselves.
If you give that cow 8 kg of food,
then she will produce about 1 kg of food;
an 8 to 1 ratio.
If I give 8 kg of food to insects,
then they will produce about 4 kg of food; an 8 to 4 ratio.
In addition, insects contain more proteins per 100 grams than a cow.
For example, crickets have 22 percent more proteins.
And if that was not yet convincing, livestock farming is responsible
for 37 percent of methane emissions from human activities
that contributes to the greenhouse effect.
Guess what?
Insects produce between 10 and 100 times less methane
than, for example, pigs.
Awesome.
So if insects are so cool,
why are they not in the supermarket shelves?
Exactly because of the faces that I saw most of you draw
when I ate a cricket.
It is unthinkable here,
but today
eat two billion people on this planet insects.
We Latin Americans did this until not too long ago.
Our pre-Columbian diet included a large variety of insects:
ant larvae, worms, crickets, and so on.
That was until the Spaniards came, who made the same face as you.
When you think of eating an insect,
then you probably think of bite into such a big cockroach,
or cutting into pieces a tartantula of this size.
But do not worry.
A product that is increasingly in use,
is insect flower.
It already has the benefits that I mentioned earlier
Plus you do not even know that there are crickets in your slice of bread.
So how do we get the most out of what insects can give us?
In 2017 we went to Chile with a group of friends.
We attended the first Latin American Summit for Young Leaders in Biotechnology.
There we introduced an idea that I think can work.
We proposed to stay in urban areas
to grow insects for food with high nutritional value,
as a solution for the lack of space and the high cost of raw materials.
We believe that if we do not break young people’s cultural barriers,
no one will do it.
We are already doing this within the theme of gender.
Moreover, it is in Latin America
food production is an essential part of our economy
and we must not lag behind these changes.
And to do this, no giant department store is needed,
nor a big investment.
For example, I try to make a contribution in my own house
by growing insects, examining how to prepare them
and to transform them into something more delicious.
And what happens if we can put our prejudices aside?
What if we consider them as thermometers or big inventors,
besides a source of food?
Nature provides us with a solution that is profitable, susceptible and sustainable,
and it is even very tasty.
Let us seize this opportunity for change
and change how we look at insects.
(Applause)
I am passionate about insects for two reasons.
First, I am wild about the endless diversity
of these little creatures.
30 million – not insects, but species.
We say that people invented the wheel.
But dung beetles have already produced bulbs of manure
long before we even thought of walking upright.
“People developed compost.”
Ants already developed compost
long before any ecologist thought about doing this on his balcony.
And if you thought we invented air conditioning,
you’re completely wrong.
Termites were of course for us.
And insects can serve as thermometers.
May I introduce you to the crickets.
The more noise they make, the higher the ambient temperature.
It varies, of course, by species, but it is reasonably accurate.
And these are just facts about four different insects.
Just think: this time 30 million.
Unbelievable.
(Laughter)
In addition, insects are good.
(Laughter)
That is the second topic that I wanted to talk to you about.
(Applause)
When I was 11 years old,
I ate a burger in a fast food restaurant.
A child approached me and said:
“Did you know that burgers are made from insects?”
Wait a second. Are insects edible?
Later I discovered that insects in hamburgers were a myth,
but at the time it kept me busy and I started to do research.
In reality, not all insects appear to be edible,
but they have a lot of advantages.
They create more food compared to agriculture and animal husbandry
on less surface and with fewer raw materials.
A cow needs about 1 hectare of meadow.
In contrast, insects do not need more space than they occupy themselves.
If you give that cow 8 kg of food,
then she will produce about 1 kg of food;
an 8 to 1 ratio.
If I give 8 kg of food to insects,
then they will produce about 4 kg of food; an 8 to 4 ratio.
In addition, insects contain more proteins per 100 grams than a cow.
For example, crickets have 22 percent more proteins.
And if that was not yet convincing, livestock farming is responsible
for 37 percent of methane emissions from human activities
that contributes to the greenhouse effect.
Guess what?
Insects produce between 10 and 100 times less methane
than, for example, pigs.
Awesome.
So if insects are so cool,
why are they not in the supermarket shelves?
Exactly because of the faces that I saw most of you draw
when I ate a cricket.
It is unthinkable here,
but today
eat two billion people on this planet insects.
We Latin Americans did this until not too long ago.
Our pre-Columbian diet included a large variety of insects:
ant larvae, worms, crickets, and so on.
That was until the Spaniards came, who made the same face as you.
When you think of eating an insect,
then you probably think of bite into such a big cockroach,
or cutting into pieces a tartantula of this size.
But do not worry.
A product that is increasingly in use,
is insect flower.
It already has the benefits that I mentioned earlier
Plus you do not even know that there are crickets in your slice of bread.
So how do we get the most out of what insects can give us?
In 2017 we went to Chile with a group of friends.
We attended the first Latin American Summit for Young Leaders in Biotechnology.
There we introduced an idea that I think can work.
We proposed to stay in urban areas
to grow insects for food with high nutritional value,
as a solution for the lack of space and the high cost of raw materials.
We believe that if we do not break young people’s cultural barriers,
no one will do it.
We are already doing this within the theme of gender.
Moreover, it is in Latin America
food production is an essential part of our economy
and we must not lag behind these changes.
And to do this, no giant department store is needed,
nor a big investment.
For example, I try to make a contribution in my own house
by growing insects, examining how to prepare them
and to transform them into something more delicious.
And what happens if we can put our prejudices aside?
What if we consider them as thermometers or big inventors,
besides a source of food?
Nature provides us with a solution that is profitable, susceptible and sustainable,
and it is even very tasty.
Let us seize this opportunity for change
and change how we look at insects.
(Applause)
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