Alternative Proteins Magazine NEWS 10 October 2025 A peer-reviewed analysis, published in the prestigious Nature journal npj Sustainable Agriculture, has found that efforts to incorporate edible insects into Western diets face a number of consumer acceptance barriers. These barriers, which are psychological, taste-, culture- and price-related in nature, challenge the long-standing assumption that farmed insects have the potential to replace traditionally farmed meat as a source of dietary protein. Authored by an international team of academics from the UK, USA and Europe, "Beyond the Buzz: Insect-based Foods are Unlikely to Significantly Reduce Meat Consumption", evaluates the likelihood of insect-based foods in replacing meat from farmed animals, when compared to alternatives including plantbased proteins and lab-grown meat. The study notes that the successful inclusion of any new food product in Western diets depends on a number of factors, but crucial is the willingness of consumers to try a product. Analysis of earlier research on consumer acceptance rates of alternative proteins indicates the highest acceptance is for plantbased meats, with a reported ‘willingness to try’ reaching as high as 91%. In contrast, farmed insects show the lowest acceptance of any alternative proteins, with reported ‘willingness to try’ routinely scoring in the 20% region. Beyond the Buzz notes that the main barrier to market acceptance of farmed insects is "the psychological rejection experienced by consumers, predominantly feelings of disgust”. Read more>> New Study: Insect-based foods unlikely to replace meat in Western diets The CRAFT Consortium, consisting of RespectFarms, Wageningen University & Research, Mosa Meat, Aleph Farms, Multus, Kipster, and Royal Kuijpers, started designing and building the world’s first cultivated meat farm, paving the way for commercialisation. Co-funded by EIT Food, the project has been awarded the first €2 million of a €4 million grant request. This landmark initiative is expected to enable farmers to diversify their businesses with cultivated meat technology—reducing water consumption by 78%, land use by 95%, and societal cost by 56%. “It is important for food innovations to stay as close as possible to primary food production, making use of local resources and waste streams,” says René Wijffels, Professor at Wageningen University, Bioprocess Engineering. “This represents the first effort globally to merge cellular and traditional farming and promises to deliver consumers the best of both worlds: the unrivalled experience of real meat, through products produced and sold locally. The project will deliver a business model that is fundamentally new on one hand and centuries old on the other, and will add new perspective, also for farmers, to agriculture as we know it. Mosa Meat has been part of this development from the get-go and we are more than happy to support the project with our knowledge and experience across the various steps of this revolutionary technology,” remarks Peter Verstrate, Co-founder and COO at Mosa Meat BV. Read more>> World’s first cultivated meat farm receives €2m support
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