Food for Thought: State of the Art Research and Needs for Promoting Insects as Food and Feed

Organizer(s)

• LN

  Lisa Neven (she/her/hers)

  Research Entomologist
  ARS
  USDA
  Wapato, Washington
• SD

  Sara Diamond

  USAID
  Washington, District of Columbia
• TC

  Tawni Crippen

  USDA
  College Station, Texas
• KR

  Kelsy Robinson

  USDA
  Starkville, Mississippi
• ED

  Elizabeth Daut

  USAID
  Washington, District of Columbia
• AD

  Annie Donoghue (she/her/hers)

  Research Leader
  ARS
  USDA
  Fayetteville, Arkansas
• 

  Kristin Duffield

  Research Entomologist postdoc
  Crop Bioprotection Unit
  USDA
  Peoria, Illinois

USDA-ARS scientists will present research being conducted as part of the Insect Meal Grand Challenge Synergies project. Topics will include insect genetics, health, and harvesting, as well as food safety and insects in circular economies. Industry, research, and policy experts will join a panel discussion to discuss advancing insect adoption.

Presentations:

• 1:30 PM – 1:35 PM ET

  Introductory remarks
  

  Presenting Author: Kim Cook – USDA
• 1:35 PM – 1:55 PM ET

  Debugging a new mini-livestock commodity: Advancing insects as an alternative protein source through a USDA-ARS Grand Challenge research approach
  

  Presenting Author: Annie Donoghue (she/her/hers) – USDA

  Co-Author: Kelsy Robinson – USDA

  Co-Author: Komala Arsi – USDA

  Co-author: Kristin Duffield – USDA

  Co-author: Tawni Crippen – USDA

  Co-author: Lisa G. Neven (she/her/hers) – USDA

  Co-author: Juan Morales Ramos – USDA

  Co-author: Kim Cook – USDA

  Co-author: Maria Guadalupe Rojas – USDA
• 1:55 PM – 2:15 PM ET

  Insect harvesting: The benefits and problems of using collected insects as animal feed
  

  Presenting Author: Paula Lado – The National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility

  Co-author: Lee W. Cohnstaedt (he/him/his) – USDA

  Co-author: Alexandra Chaskopoulou – USDA

  Co-author: Robert Ewing – USDA

  Co-author: Phillip Shults – USDA

  Co-author: Kortnee VanDonge – Kansas State University

  Co-author: Sabrina Sweistek – Mississippi State University

  Co-author: Jason Cherico – USDA

  Co-author: Morgan L. Olmstead – USDA

  Co-author: D. Christopher Rogers – University of Kansas

  Co-author: Daniel Brabec – USDA

  Co-author: Jay Brown – University of Pennsylvania

  Co-author: Natalia Cernicchiaro – Kansas State University

  Co-author: Brenda Oppert – USDA
• 2:15 PM – 2:35 PM ET

  Food safety concerns and novel disinfection strategies for insects as feed
  

  Presenting Author: Palmy Jesudhasan (he/him/his) – USDA

  Co-author: Anna Assumpaco – University of Arkansas

  Co-author: Komala Arsi – USDA

  Co-author: Lee W. Cohnstaedt (he/him/his) – USDA

  Co-author: Annie Donoghue (she/her/hers) – USDA

  Co-author: Juan Morales Ramos – USDA

  Co-author: Maria Guadalupe Rojas – USDA

  Co-author: Tawni Crippen – USDA
• 2:35 PM – 2:50 PM ET

  Break
• 2:50 PM – 3:10 PM ET

  Genetic selection for improving insect efficiency and production parameters
  

  Presenting Author: Juan A. Morales-Ramos (he/him/his) – USDA

  Co-author: Guadalupe Rojas – USDA
• 3:10 PM – 3:30 PM ET

  Development of genetic resources for production insects
  

  Presenting Author: Brenda Oppert – USDA
• 3:30 PM – 3:50 PM ET

  Securing the health of insect agriculture: A new chapter in insect pathology
  

  Presenting Author: Kristin Duffield – USDA

  Co-author: Jose Luis Ramirez – USDA
• 3:50 PM – 4:05 PM ET

  Break
• 4:05 PM – 4:25 PM ET

  Insect bioremediation of mycotoxin contaminated grain
  

  Presenting Author: Revathi Shan – USDA
• 4:25 PM – 4:45 PM ET

  Insect frass composition and potential as a soil amendment for improving soil quality in circular economies
  

  Presenting Author: Helen Amorim – USDA

  Co-author: Amanda Ashworth – USDA

  Co-author: Guadalupe Rojas – USDA

  Co-author: Juan A. Morales-Ramos (he/him/his) – USDA

  Co-author: Komala Arsi – USDA

  Co-author: Phillip Moore Jr. – USDA

  Co-author: Annie Donoghue (she/her/hers) – USDA
• 4:45 PM – 5:20 PM ET

  Panel discussion
• 5:20 PM – 5:30 PM ET

  Closing remarks
  

  Presenting Author: Lisa G. Neven (she/her/hers) – USDA