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Three honours students film documentary about the Dutch insect industry
As a part of their honour programme, three Wageningen students filmed a documentary on the growing insect industry. Humans and animals will likely eat more insects in the future. ‘But, there are many questions. How can we make the production of insects more sustainable? And how can it become profitable? What about animal welfare?’
"Examining the insect industry in the Netherlands" (De insectensector in Nederland onder de loep) is the title of the hour-long documentary that three students made as part of their honours programme at Wageningen University & Research. ‘We made the documentary for students, people of our age, who have questions. Insects as a food source or an ingredient for animal feed are increasingly in the news. In a low-threshold manner, we wanted to show how scientists and businesses ensure that insects become a new source of protein’, says Joep Berkers, one of the three honours students.
In addition to Berkers, a student of landscape architecture, Ivar Gruppen (molecular life sciences) and Koen van der Aa (soil, water and atmosphere) also contributed to the documentary.
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Insect industry has major potential
The three students had never before made a documentary, but the honours programme offers opportunities for such an endeavour. ‘We were really given the opportunity to work on a large project from start to finish in two years. We were supported by our coach, Dr ir Helmut Saatkamp. He advised us to expand our perspective to include the entire sector and pointed us in the direction of useful contacts.’ Berkers, Gruppen and Van der Aa were assisted by a student friend with his own little production business. ‘We prepared the shootings by reading, drafting questions, writing a script, and even making a storyboard.’
The students interviewed professors, researchers, entrepreneurs and even an animal ethicist. ‘The sector has a lot of potential’, says Berkers. ‘Much can be achieved in terms of sustainability, circularity and the use of space. However, breeding is currently not profitable for many entrepreneurs because of the high cost of insects. And for the greatest impact, humans should be willing to eat insects that have been subjected to relatively little processing. That would call for a major cultural shift in the West.’ Moreover, there is insufficient focus on the issue of insect welfare. ‘If this issue is not addressed, the industry may well face the same issues as the meat sector currently faces.’
Positive reactions
‘Without the honours programme, I would not have embarked on a project of this magnitude’, Berkers says. ‘The support we were given, as well as the deadline, were really helpful.’ Furthermore, the programme connected the three students. ‘In the honours programme, you meet students from all sorts of domains, an enriching experience.’ The three students each brought different skills to the table, from knowledge about the biology of insects to experience in data gathering. ‘Koen held the survey, for example. The results revealed what questions people in our age bracket have about insects.’
Their fellow students responded positively. ‘Many people feel that it is an excellent introduction to the subject, and the sector feels that the documentary provides an extensive overview. So, we are very happy with the end result.’