Keynote Speakers

Arnold van Huis

Arnold van Huis is emeritus professor of Wageningen University in the Netherlands. He worked from 1974 to 1979 in Nicaragua for the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations on integrated pest management (IPM) in food grains. From 1982 to 1985 he coordinated a regional crop protection training project in Niger for eight Sahelian countries. From 1985 to 2015 he worked as tropical entomologist at Wageningen University, the Netherlands, and has been responsible for a number of IPM and biological control projects in the tropics.

He is a world leading expert on insects as food and feed. In 2013 he published with FAO a book ‘Edible insects: future prospects for food and feed security’ which has been downloaded seven million times. He is also the first author of the ‘The Insect Cookbook’ published in 2014 by Columbia University Press. In 2014 he organized with FAO a conference ‘Insects to feed the world’ attended by 450 participants from 45 countries. He is chief editor of the Journal of Insects as Food and Feed. On edible insects, he (co)authored ten book chapters, and 20 refereed and 10 non-refereed publications. In September 2017 he published as main editor a book ‘Insects as food and feed: from production to consumption’.

Marcel Dicke

Marcel Dicke is professor of Entomology and head of the Laboratory of Entomology at Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands. His main interest is in the ecology of insects and one of his discoveries is that plants respond to feeding by herbivorous insects with the production of odours that attract the enemy of their enemy (coined ‘crying for help’ by the plant). This research supports the development of biological control of insects in agriculture. In 2006 he received the Rank Prize for Nutrition (Trustees of Rank Prize Foundation, United Kingdom) and in 2007 he received the Spinoza award (also known as Dutch Nobel Prize) for his research.

His general interest is in exploring opportunities to use insects to solve societal problems and challenges. In 2006 he led a team that organised the festival Wageningen, City of Insects that attracted > 20,000 visitors. He is one of the authors of The Insect Cookbook (Columbia University Press, New York, USA), and was member of the team that organised the international conference Insects to Feed the World in 2014. See also Marcel Dicke’s TED talk ‘Why not eat insects?’.

David Drew

Managing Director of AgriProtein, David has vast experience in setting up one of the most well-known insect rearing operations, currently situated in South Africa. Focusing on the commercial potential for insects from an international business perspective, David brings his first-hand experience in bug-based business. For more information, you can read an interview with him here!

Nanna Roos

Associate Professor at the University of Copenhagen, Nanna is a specialist in edible insects and their nutritional potential in the diet. In particular Nanna has researched the role that insects can play as a food source in developing countries, as well as their potential in high-income countries, with her presentation focusing on edible insects and their possible health benefits. Nanna was interviewed back in November about insects and nutrition, a copy of which is available here.