Insect consumption and aesthetic disgust: Using design fiction to imagine novel food experiences

Bas de Boer, Mailin Lemke*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

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    Abstract

    Disgust is a strong emotion influencing human behaviour in many domains, including food choices. For example, many western consumers are hesitant about eating insects. This is understandable as insects have been connected with the emotion of disgust. We conducted two design workshops to gain a better understanding of factors that can give rise to the emotion of disgust in the context of grasshoppers and explore alternative food design solutions. Based on the insights, we created four design fiction examples to illustrate how disgust can be an integral part of grasshopper consumption. We argue that changing the attitude of Europeans towards novel food items like grasshoppers requires exploring design strategies that neither solely focus on the sustainability benefits of insect consumption nor take disgust to be something that must be circumvented.
    Original languageEnglish
    Number of pages21
    JournalInternational Journal of Food Design
    DOIs
    Publication statusE-pub ahead of print/First online - 21 Jul 2023

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