January 2025 UK Edible Insect Association farmed insect protein conference
The UK Edible Insect Association (UKEIA) will hold a farmed insect protein conference early in 2025, focused on supporting business growth through collaboration. Designed to bring experts and enthusiasts from across the enterprise and research spectrum together to discuss the future of insect protein in food and feed, the conference will take place at Nottingham University on Thursday and Friday 9-10 January 2025.
With a line up including expert speakers, practical workshops and delicious sampling sessions like dishes from the fantastic start-up Yumbug, whose cricket tacos can be found on the menu of Mexican restaurant chain Wahaca, the event promises something for everyone who is into insect protein.
Hosted by UKEIA Managing Director, Dr Nick Rousseau, the conference will build on UKEIA’s strengths in growing community, to launch the UK insect farming Community of Practice (IFCoP), ensuring insect farmers across the country feel supported and enabled to make the most of this exciting new form of agriculture.
Nick said: “We can’t wait to bring everyone together in January – since we held our first conference in 2016, the buzz has really been building for edible insect protein as the world wakes up to the fact that, as a species, we cannot carry on the way we are. That’s in terms of improving and supplementing healthy diets, in the context of climate change, sustainability and land use, and in recognising a gap for innovative practice when it comes to traditional agriculture and farming methods.”
Currently Novel Food Act legislation is being considered in the UK by the Food Standards Agency in terms of edible insect consumption, but calls are also growing from the sector for changes to regulation around the use of substrates that can be fed to the insects themselves.
Nick continued: “We named this conference Nest 1.0 after the weaver ant, paying tribute to their incredible attributes: their ingenuity, their teamwork, their sense of community, their ability to adapt. To be honest these skillsets actually apply to many insects, and it’s the idea of cooperation and sharing flavoured with competitiveness that we want to embrace at our conference.
“We’ve noted an openness in the insect protein sector, an understanding that we are not the solution, rather part of a solution. From food for humans and pets, to feed for farm animals and fish, to becoming an intrinsic part of the bio-conversion cycle, the potential benefits of insects are just so exciting. UKEIA is here to provide a voice for the whole sector, but it’s together that we build momentum.”
Open to students, researchers, businesses, charities, entrepreneurs, investors and basically anyone who has an interest in insect protein, ticket prices at Nest 1.0 will be on a sliding scale, with reductions available for members. Simply sign up for our newsletter, or keep an eye on socials on LinkedIn and Instagram for the ticket launch.
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