
This year is already speeding by, and as we approach the end of January I'm happy to report that ticket sales for Nest 1.0 are already going extraordinarily well, so do make sure that you nab your place while you can.
With the global population expected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, we all know that we're going to be facing massive issues with the amount of food needed to feed the world's hungry mouths, let alone the problems we'll face with scarcity of land, water, and energy resources. The predicted demand for proteins, and the fact that the livestock supply chain is seen as a significant contributor of greenhouse gases thanks to the association between livestock GHG emissions and climate change, means that from algae to insects, eyes are on #altprotein.
It is when considering the pathway of other foods that have become commonplace in our diet that I feel positive about the way forward. Who would have thought in the 80s or 90s that hummus would become a dip so common that it's sold in every corner shop? Avocado on toast is allegedly the favoured breakfast of everyone under 30, and sushi is a lunch of choice for young and old alike. These foods that were once unthinkable, along with the rise of alternative milks and oils, gluten free alternatives and many other dietary options that are now part of the everyday give me hope for entomophagy.
I believe the time for insects is coming, and that Woven - as was - should be incredibly proud of how far it has travelled in just ten short years. From a 2015 meeting of minds between me and other insect enthusiasts, happily sharing notes and recipes and research articles, the UK Edible Insect Association is now a membership body which is growing every week.
Thanks to our membership of organisations like NAPIC (the National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre) alongside projects like our call for Expressions of Interest - the outcome of which our expert researchers and business mentors are currently examining - we have every intention of increasing our sector's influence through programmes of education and research.
We're awaiting official approval from the Food Standards Agency for edible insects and we have every intention of increasing our influence in the wider world too. This can only happen thanks to the curiosity and perseverance of those in the farmed insect protein sector - so thank you all!
And hopefully, I will meet you all very soon in Nottingham. If you've got a moment, and would like to be in with a chance of winning tickets to Nest 1.0, just fill in our research request, outlined in further detail below.
Together, we build!
Nick
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