Scientists in California want to know if you would ever feed your cat a bowl of bug chow. They’re looking to survey cat owners about their attitudes on the emerging trend of insect-based cat diets, which some researchers and advocates say could be more sustainable and possibly even healthier than traditional pet food. The research is being conducted by scientists with the Animal Welfare Epidemiology Lab at the University of California, Davis.
The techniques needed to mass-produce insects for food are also thought to be more environmentally sustainable than traditional sources of meat, such as cattle. There is an ongoing debate over whether edible insects can become an important part of human diets , but the insect-based pet food industry seems to be growing steadily. There are now dozens of brands being sold worldwide. Many of these are primarily in Europe, but the industry has begun to emerge in the U.S. as well.