India, Dec. 22 -- "If I could, I would probably eat them every day. I used to have 50 grams of cricket powder daily, as a topping on my smoothie."

This was not a thought-out answer but a quick reaction from Frederich Hennecke, a young Control Technical Assistant at the Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria (UP), South Africa. On a recent field visit to the department's insect rearing facilities, Hennecke emerged as both researcher and practitioner. Along with a team of entomologists and food scientists, he is exploring a question that is increasingly urgent in a warming world that faces food insecurity: Could insects help feed our future generations?

Ancient African protein

The idea of eating insects may sound no...