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Microplastic content and using food waste-fed insects in fish feed influence appeal of farmed fish
Summary
A consumer choice experiment in Singapore found that people are willing to pay more for farmed fish raised on sustainable insect-based feed, but their enthusiasm drops sharply if they know the fish feed itself contains microplastics. This suggests that microplastic contamination in the food supply chain — even in eco-friendly alternatives — poses a significant commercial and public health concern for the aquaculture industry.
Abstract Although aquaculture can contribute to food security, its high dependency on wild-caught fish as feed has urged the sector to turn to sustainable alternative feed sources. Larvae of black soldier flies fed on food waste represent a sustainable alternative to fish feed. Yet, there remains uncertainty on how consumers would respond to food waste-reared insect-fed farmed fish. Here, we carried out a discrete choice experiment in Singapore (n = 600) to investigate consumers’ preferences for alternative feed sources (wild-caught fish, insects fed with plants, insects fed with pre-/post-consumer food waste), microplastic content, CO2 emissions and origin. We found a general reluctance to purchase insect-fed farmed fish, especially if the insects are fed with post-consumer food waste. Nonetheless, if the feed is produced locally and if the microplastics content is lowered, insect-fed fish could become more appealing. Results further suggest greater purchase intention of fish farmed with alternative feeds among university degree holders. Compared with females, males appear readier to buy farmed fish fed with insects reared on post-consumer food waste. Overall, these results contribute to revealing consumer preferences for novel aquafeeds, informing sustainable aquaculture marketing and policy.
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Supplementary material from "Microplastic content and using food waste-fed insects in fish feed influence appeal of farmed fish"
Researchers conducted a discrete choice experiment with 600 consumers in Singapore to assess preferences for farmed fish fed with alternative feeds — including food-waste-reared black soldier fly larvae — finding general reluctance toward insect-fed fish, especially when insects were raised on post-consumer food waste, though lower microplastic content and local production improved consumer appeal.
Supplementary material from "Microplastic content and using food waste-fed insects in fish feed influence appeal of farmed fish"
Researchers conducted a discrete choice experiment with 600 consumers in Singapore to assess preferences for farmed fish fed with alternative feeds — including food-waste-reared black soldier fly larvae — finding general reluctance toward insect-fed fish, especially when insects were raised on post-consumer food waste, though lower microplastic content and local production improved consumer appeal.
Data file from Microplastic content and using food waste-fed insects in fish feed influence appeal of farmed fish
This data file contains the choice model dataset from a discrete choice experiment examining how microplastic content and insect-based aquafeed sources influence consumer preferences for farmed fish in Singapore.
Data file from Microplastic content and using food waste-fed insects in fish feed influence appeal of farmed fish
This data file contains the choice model dataset from a discrete choice experiment examining how microplastic content and insect-based aquafeed sources influence consumer preferences for farmed fish in Singapore.
Supplementary materials and tables from Microplastic content and using food waste-fed insects in fish feed influence appeal of farmed fish
This supplementary material provides example background information, choice set presentations, demographic tables, and model outputs from a discrete choice experiment investigating how microplastic content and insect-based aquafeed sources affect consumer purchase intentions for farmed fish in Singapore.