Back to the future: Are consumers ready to eat insect-fed poultry food products from a circular farming system? An assessment for Italy

The exploitation of natural resources from livestock farming would decrease if conventional protein sources in\r\nanimal diets were partially replaced with insects through a circular economy approach. However, consumers’\r\nacceptance of novel insect-fed (IF) animal products is key to the final success of such products. This study analyses\r\nconsumers’ willingness to buy IF poultry meat and eggs using the results from an online survey of 780\r\nItalian consumers. Overall, our results show a positive attitude of Italian consumers surveyed towards IF animal\r\nproducts. Moreover, we find that food neophobia and entomophobia negatively affect Italian consumers’ attitude\r\ntowards those products, while the trust in the role of public authorities in ensuring food safety positively impacts\r\non it. Also, consumers’ propensity towards sustainable food increases the likelihood of buying IF animal products.