30/04/14: First International Conference ‘Insects to Feed the World’

The first ever conference ‘Insects to feed the world’ in the Netherlands from 14-17 May will present the state of the art in research, entrepreneurship, gastronomy and policy discussion, about insects as a future food and animal feed source. More than 400 participants from over 40 countries will show the huge potential and exciting new possibilities, that insects for feed and food offer for entrepreneurs and how they can contribute to a more sustainable food sector. The conference is organised by Wageningen University in collaboration with the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 

The conference participants represent research institutes, universities, national governments, international organizations, and private food and feed enterprises. These will discuss about food and feed safety, poverty alleviation, environmental impacts and business opportunities and challenges.

Attendance of the conference is open for journalists after accreditation. During the conference there will be daily updates for the press in the late afternoon (see below).

The conference programme starts with a keynote presentation of the Director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington. The opening session (afternoon of May 14^th, 17:00 hours) includes speeches from the Netherlands Government, the Wageningen University and Research Centre, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations and from the Kenia based International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology.

Venue

The conference will be held in Conference Centre Hotel De Reehorst in Ede, (near Wageningen) in The Netherlands.

Accreditation

Please note that also for journalists accreditation is compulsory, please contact: Insectstofeedtheworld@wur.nl. Attending the conference is free of charge for journalists. However, please note that the organisation is forced to charge 40 euro/day for catering services per person for accreditation more than one day. Please indicate which days you would like to attend and the number of staff joining.

Press briefings

The local press briefings are scheduled:

Wednesday May 14th, 18:30-19:00 h (after official opening starting 17:15 h)

Thursday, May 15th, 17:30-18:15 h

Friday, May 16th, 17:00-17:45 h (closure including conclusions and recommendations)

Saturday 17th, Excursions

#Insects2014

During the conference a twitter team will send updates from @Insects2014 and with hashtag #Insects2014.

Further information

Further details are available on the website, see conference and latest information. Conference outcomes are available on FAO Edible insect.

More information on the conference can be provided via Insectstofeedtheworld@wur.nl or by prof. Arnold van Huis, Wageningen University, tel. + 31 317 484653 or arnold.vanhuis@wur.nl. Photo and video material is available on website FAO Edible insect. (Click on ‘Resources’ in left column on http://www.fao.org/forestry/edibleinsects/en/ )

English: (Green) the Netherlands. (Light-green) The European Union (EU). (Grey) Europe. (Light-grey) The surrounding region. See also: Category:SVG locator maps of countries of Europe (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Wageningen University is part of Wageningen UR (University & Research centre). The mission is ‘To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life’. Within Wageningen UR, nine research institutes both specialised and applied have joined forces with Wageningen University to help answer the most important questions in the domain of healthy food and living environment. With approximately 30 locations (in the Netherlands, Brazil, Chile, Ethiopia and China), 6,000 members of staff and 9,000 students, Wageningen UR is one of the leading organisations in its domain worldwide. The integral approach to problems and the cooperation between the exact sciences and the technological and social disciplines are at the heart of the Wageningen Approach.

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