Teaching with insects as food and feed: Incorporating entomophagy into sustainable agriculture education at the university and community level

World population is forecast to top 9 billion by 2050, and food and feed production must be increased by more than half of current levels while arable land and fresh water resources remain limited. Many scientists and food production specialists suggest that insects can augment traditional livestock markets to help meet these needs, but some groundwork must be laid in order to widely incorporate them into local food and feed systems.  Cultural perceptions of insects in the United States will need to be reconceived. A promising approach to this reconception is to incorporate entomophagy into existing sustainable agricultural education programs at a local level. The Environmental Education Center at Austin Peay State University provides an important resource to demonstrate entomophagy techniques at the university and community level. Efforts are underway to engage and educate university and high school students, and community members in entomophagy in courses, labs and community service projects for local hunger relief organizations.