Ebola, bushmeat, and the future of food

 All things considered, should what West Africans eat move from being a private, state level issue to falling under the lens of global scrutiny, and into the scope of a world health concern?

Dissecting the causes underlying the current Ebola epidemic in West Africa can be complicated. A number of factors may be responsible for the outbreak, ranging from: poor education, severe socio-economic conditions, mistrust of authorities, and overall incompetence in implementing a comprehensive public health policy. But ever since Ebola reached the Western world, more attention has been placed on the public health and policy concerns of the outbreak, leaving the cultural aspects largely ignored. In particular, the practice of bushmeat eating may be a more fundamental reason for the outbreak than failure to implement proper damage control after the fact [1].

From: http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2014/07/daily-chart-22

Bushmeat is abundant in West Africa, and provides an inexpensive source of protein for many people living there. Compared to raising livestock, or growing plants, it is more reliable as a staple, in part due to its large supply and constant availability year round. But in spite of being a good, cheap source of protein, bushmeat (especially from fruit bats and monkeys) poses a significant risk for Ebola and other zoonotic pathogens. Once a host is infected, these pathogens can be transmitted to humans when hunting, handling or preparing them for consumption. Fruit bats especially are especially high risk, as they can host more pathogens than any other source of bushmeat, often without showing symptoms [2, 3].

West African governments have tried to address the issue of bushmeat consumption through policy and awareness, but thus far this has been ineffective at discouraging the practice. It's too pervasive. The demand for bushmeat is two-fold: affluent individuals desire it as a delicacy, and poorer individuals prefer it as an alternative source of protein compared to 'traditional' livestock which may be more expensive to purchase or rear. With proper education and awareness, it is foreseeable that the demand for bushmeat as a delicacy may be reduced; but what can be done about the demand for bushmeat due to a lack of good protein sources? [4]

Back in September, Professor Chukwunenye Anene of Anambra State University in Nigeria, proposed that Nigerians switch to entomophagy – the practice of eating insects - instead of relying on bush meat as a main source of protein. The suggestion was sharply criticized by locals, but I think he makes an important point. For decades, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization has been advocating entomophagy to combat world hunger in a sustainable way. In their 2013 publication Edible insects: Future prospects for food and feed security, the FAO stated that with the world population expected to grow to 9 billion people by 2050, current food production will need to almost double. However, the food production status quo is not sustainable due to overfishing, climate change, water shortages and scarce land. According to the book, edible insects can not only help address the increasing demand for sustainable food sources, but also provide developing nations with a cheap source of food and feed with high nutritional value [5].

From: Edible insects: Future prospects for food and feed security

From: Edible insects: Future prospects for food and feed security

But what about risk of infection related to hunting, handling or consuming insects? Since insects are more taxonomically distant from humans than mammals or birds, this makes them less likely to transmit diseases such as Ebola, Bird flu or Mad cow disease. The FAO acknowledges the need for more research to quantify potential health risks, but the prima facie case for entomophagy seems to be a promising solution to the demand for cheap, sustainable protein sources in developing nations.

There is still a need for innovations that make insect eating more appetizing, at least to Western palates. Ento, a London startup is trying to do just that: "Motivated by the failings of the livestock industry, as well as the environmental and nutritional benefits of insects, the Ento team wanted to see how this provocative new food source could be introduced to Western diets. The project is about driving cultural change through understanding human perceptions, using strategic design thinking, as well as through creating innovative and compelling experiences." [6]

Prof. Anene's suggestion that Nigerian's turn to insects rather than bushmeat, as an alternative source of protein, was met with overwhelming scorn from the Nigerian community. But given that bushmeat is popular among educated and affluent West Africans, I wonder if the best line of approach would be to first target them: being more educated could mean that they would be more likely to appreciate the urgent need for alternatives to bushmeat, and less likely to object to it based on perceiving it as revolting. Really, is eating insects any more off putting than eating bushmeat, or livestock for that matter? It's all arbitrary. Also, those in the poorer segments of society who have aspire to be more affluent, may sometimes try to mimic affluent lifestyles. Therefore, targeting the affluent minority may be a good strategy for bootstrapping entomophagy in societies where attitudes towards it are predominantly negative.

All things considered, should what West Africans eat move from being a private, state level issue to falling under the lens of global scrutiny, and into the scope of a world health concern?

Thanks for reading!

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Linked Content:

1. The Fight Against Ebola (Youtube)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANUI4uT3xJI

2. Bushmeat Hunting, Deforestation, and Prediction of Zoonotic Disease
http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/11/12/04-0789_article

3. Why do Bats Transmit so many Diseases like Ebola? (Youtube)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ao0dqJvH4a0

4. An Analysis of Socioeconomics of bushmeat hunting at major hunting sites in Uganda (pdf)

http://www.wcs.org/~/media/Files/pdfs/WCS%20Working%20Paper%20No%20%2038%20%20%20Socioeconomics%20of%20bushmeat%20hunting%20in%20Uganda.ashx

5. Edible insects: Future prospects for food and feed security (pdf)
http://www.fao.org/docrep/018/i3253e/i3253e.pdf

6. A Case Study, Ento: The Art of Eating Insects
http://www.core77.com/blog/case_study/case_study_ento_the_art_of_eating_insects_21841.asp