Fried locusts, ant soup and other dishes made from insects could be the answer to the current global food crisis.

The scarcity of food and resources is an inevitable threat to human development that can be solved through eating bugs, Paul Vantomme, senior forestry officer of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, told China Daily on Tuesday. 

Vantomme is visiting Huazhong Agricultural University in Wuhan from Tuesday to Friday. 

"Edible insects have many advantages in that they grow quickly, emit less pollution and are high in nutrients," he said, adding that many insects worldwide contain high quality protein, vitamins and amino acids required by humans, and can be used as animal feed or human food to alleviate the world's food crises. 

Vantomme said insects can be grown on organic waste, thus also reducing air and water pollution. 

According to a report released by the FAO last year, crickets need six times less feed than cattle, four times less than sheep and half as much as pigs and chickens to produce the same amount of protein.

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