21 June 2024 Revealing a Māori appetite for insects

Chrystal O’Connor (Ngāti Hauā, Ngāti Paoa) from Cambridge is passionate about the potential for insect protein to improve global food security.

Chrystal's started here at home in Aotearoa with research that reveals a strong Māori interest in ‘entomophagy’ – eating insects. As part of her PhD, Chrystal has published a research paper that explores Māori attitudes towards eating insects. As well as gaining an understanding of the history and perception of entomophagy in Māori culture, her research points to potential future commercial opportunities amongst Māori.

While attitudes towards eating edible insects have been studied globally, the focus has been on Western perspectives. Chrystal saw the opportunity – and the need – to broaden this research. “Even though around 2 billion people in the world eat insects and it’s prevalent in many cultures, there’s a gap in indigenous perceptions and especially how Māori engage with these practices,” says Chrystal.

To undertake her research, Chrystal created an online survey that asked questions around openness to eating insects, the impact of rearing insects on rongoā rākau (medicinal plants), and which insect species were more likely to be embraced as a food source.

Because her survey was seeking mātauranga (Māori knowledge) it was important to use tīkanga (Māori cultural practices/customs) and whakawhanaungatanga (the process of establishing culturally meaningful connections with others).

“My initial surveys were sent to close family and friends. Because mātauranga is about the exchange of knowledge I explained what I was doing, the benefits of the research, and that I would share the results with them. For wider audiences I also included my pepeha to let people know who I am and where I come from,” says Chrystal.

“It was a very successful approach and I had over 180 people from across the country share their knowledge.”

Chrystal’s survey helped her to amass a rich pool of knowledge. She discovered that insects are hugely important to Māori, with 40% of respondents recognising insects as a significant food source. Almost everyone named the huhu grub, and other insects identified included the cicada, wētā, kānuka grub, crickets and mānuka beetles.

"I learned that Kēkerewai/Mānuka beetle were actually mixed with Raupō/Bulrush pollen to make bread. So Māori have been making high protein bread for a very long time!” she says."

An impressive 87% of respondents said they were willing to eat insects, either whole or processed. They also said they were more likely to eat insects that were native to Aotearoa New Zealand, previously eaten by Māori or fed rongoā rākau.

“Our findings reveal a notable opportunity for Māori-led businesses or future collaborations with Māori to revitalise insects as a food source,” says Chrystal.

The paper has been published in Insects as Food and Feed, a high-profile international journal, and has been made open access so that everyone has the opportunity to read it. “I feel that I have a duty and responsibility to make this information accessible to everyone, especially because of the type of information that was shared,” explains Chrystal.

Chrystal is now well into the next stage of her research – exploring three different caterpillars as a potential source of proteins with compounds beneficial to human health.

“I’ve reared three different types of caterpillars on two food sources – mānuka and kawakawa. I've been looking at the interaction between the insect and the medicinal plant. Our initial protein results are looking really positive,” she says.

Chrystal’s PhD is being done in combination with Lincoln University and AgResearch as part of the Joint Postgraduate School: Food Transitions 2050 programme.

“I like the small scale and welcoming culture at Lincoln, yet it’s a prestigious university that’s well known for agriculture and food production. The close proximity to AgResearch, Plant and Food Research, and Manaaki Whenua has been a strong driver for me, as I wanted to do my PhD in both a research institute and academia,” Chrystal says. “My co-supervisors from both Lincoln University and AgResearch have exposed me to different ways of approaching the research.”

Chrystal is excited to be working towards creating sustainable, commercially viable insects as food for Māori – and anyone else with an appetite for beneficial protein sources and health benefits that go beyond just eating a cooked bug. “It would be awesome to see insects in the food market in the future!” she says.