Background: The mounting pressure of the agri-food sector on the environment and food security is urging ways to rethink the production and consumption of food. In particular, the livestock industry is a significant contributor to these issues, yet the demand for meat is expected to continue to rise in the coming decades. The potential of insects as an alternative protein source, both as feed and food, has been extensively reviewed in recent years due to their environmental and nutritional advantages. Despite the presence of insects in many parts of the world, western countries have little to no involvement in insect production or consumption. However, that is changing, albeit slowly. For insects to successfully establish presence in western markets, many barriers need to be overcome.
Scope and approach: The purpose of this paper is to identify all the reported barriers to establishing an insect market in western countries through a systematic analysis of all relevant literature in the field. By compiling an overview of all barriers found within recent literature, this paper aims to illuminate all the areas which need to be addressed to successfully establish insect production and consumption.
Key findings and conclusion: A total of 44 individual barriers were identified, relating to societal, market and technical contexts. The findings suggest that successfully implementing insect production and consumption in western countries is likely to be challenging.