We want to help you get to know the impact that nonprofits have on our community, the story behind what they do, and how to get involved. By spotlighting stories from various nonprofits, we aim to inspire volunteers to begin, and continue, making valuable contributions to the community and the people within.

Swoovy’s Nonprofit Spotlight This Week: Little Herds

The Mission of Little Herds is to educate and empower communities, both locally and globally, to support and promote the use of insects for food and feed as an environmentally sound and economically viable source of nutrition.

However, since the COVID-19 pandemic, Little Herds has shifted their mission statement from helping people eat insects to simply helping people EAT. Currently, Little Herds is co-organizing and collaborating with local incentives that are focused on supporting quality food security and accessibility to community members that need it most.

We Know What You’re Thinking. INSECTS?!

Yes, Insects! With climate change is becoming an increasing concern in our world, it is important for organizations like Little Herds to take steps in the right direction to help slow the change of our beloved planet.

Before we dive into how consuming insects may be a solution to slowing climate change and curing world hunger, we must take a look at WHY we should consider it. When we think of climate change, many of us think of emissions created by factories, cars, and other carbon dioxide emitting machinery. However, we often overlook the effects that conventional agriculture has on our atmosphere. For example; deforestation, harvesting peat and managing grasslands & wetlands account for nearly 33% of human greenhouse gas emissions, including more than 40% of methane.

Furthermore, a study conducted on the correlation between livestock and climate change by UC Davis found that cattle are the #1 agricultural source of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Livestock alone are responsible for 14.5% of ALL global greenhouse gasses. Herds of cattle are the particular culprit in this case, producing over 220 pounds of methane annually. While the methane produced from cattle is shorter lived than carbon dioxide, it is also 28 times MORE potent in warming the atmosphere than its counterpart.

Insects as a Part of Our Diets

Let’s first discuss the health benefits of eating insects and why Little Herds is attempting to shift traditional Western diets. This may come as a surprise to many, but consuming insects is actually an extremely healthy and sustainable diet. Don’t believe us? According to a 2013 report published by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), around 2 BILLION people worldwide consume insects as a part of their traditional diet. Otherwise known as entomophagy. This practice is commonly found in many parts of the world including; China, Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and some developing regions of Central and South America.

en·to·moph·a·gy

(Noun)

the practice of eating insects, especially by people.

In fact, insects are considered highly nutritional; the majority of them are rich in protein, healthy fats, iron, calcium and low in carbohydrates. The FAO even claims that insects are just as - if not more - nutritious than your everyday proteins like beef. For example, just 100 grams of crickets contain around 121 calories, 12.9 grams of protein, 5.5 grams of fat, and 5.1 grams of carbohydrates. While 100 grams of ground beef contains more protein – around 23.5 grams – it is also much higher in fat, containing around 21.2 grams. - Via Medical News Today

Insect Eating Can Help Slow Climate Change, While Also Solving World Hunger

As we discussed previously, agriculture and livestock are one of the worlds leading climate change culprits. If we continue this trend, the FAO has estimated that global agricultural production will need to increase by 70% in order to feed the projected global population of 9.1 billion by 2050. It’s 2021, and we already have a hard enough time finding enough food for everyone. By introducing insects into our diets today, we can kill 2 birds with 1 stone. We can simultaneously reduce the amount of livestock and agriculture emissions, while also creating enough food to feed our population. There are endless benefits that come along with introducing insects into our diets; less agricultural water & land use, excellent fertilizer (frass) produced by insects, and increased biodiversity, just to name a few.

Little Herds - Changing the Narrative

While we still have a ways to go for Western societies to adopt insects into their everyday diets, organizations like Little Herds are here to help change the narrative and bring our world towards a more healthy and sustainable future.

If you would like to learn more about Little Herds and the type of food they create on their mission, please view the links we have provided below, the attached video on how insects can be a tasty part of a fine-dining experience. , or visit their website at www.LittleHerds.org