Western diners should get used to the idea of eating insects because by 2020 it is "inevitable" they will form an important part of our diet, according to the entomologist who heads up the world's first university centre focusing on insects as a food source.

He argues that consumers who have traditionally turned their noses up at six-legged food may have to change their minds as conventional meat becomes more expensive and scarce.

In an interview with Wired magazine, Prof Marcel Dicke of Wageningen University said: "The most important thing is getting people prepared, getting used to the idea. Because from 2020 onwards, there won't be much of a choice for us." He wants to persuade people to ditch prejudices about insects, and to persuade manufacturers and suppliers to come up with products that can be sold in "a reassuring and attractive manner". Dicke heads a Netherlands-based four-year programme aiming to produce a scientific and business plan to bring insects to western tables.

More than 1,000 insect species are eaten around the world in 80% of countries – mostly in the tropics. The UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation says insects are vital to meeting the nutritional needs of the world's growing population, but they hardly feature in the diets of many rich nations.

For centuries insects have been part of the daily diet of humans throughout the world, from the ants and larvae eaten as part of their subsistence diet by the tribes of Africa and Australia to the popular crispy-fried locusts and beetles enjoyed in Thailand.

Insects as food (known as entomophagy) are increasingly being promoted as a alternative which are more healthy, nutritious and sustainable than mainstream staples such as chicken, beef and fish.

The starting point for the research programme at Wageningen University – led by a team of 70 researchers – is the notion that 80% of the world's population, knowingly or unknowingly, is already consuming insects. Ground insects are already found in common foods such as canned tomatoes and peanut butter, for example.

As well as being low in cholesterol and high in protein, insects produce less waste, Dicke points out, as we typically throw away three-quarters of a chicken, but can eat the same percentage of a locust. Insects also win on the "conversion factor" or ration of feed ingested by the animal to the meat produced by it – known as ECI. Beef cattle has an ECI rate of 10 while the cockroach triumps with 44. The carbon emissions associated with growing insects is also far lower than those linked to conventional livestock.

In the UK, the sale of insects for human consumption is part of what is still a niche food sector centred largely around novelty snacks. The specialist supplier Edible sells a range of delicacies ranging from Thai Curry crickets to BBQ worm crisps which are stocked by retailers such as Selfridges, and Harvey Nichols.

Tanya McMullen, grocery buying manager at Selfridges, said: "The Edible brand grows year after year. Our customers like it because it is so unusual. You don't find oven-baked tarantula and scorpion lollies in many places so it's a product most customers won't have seen before. It is difficult to say whether it's a current trend as it has always been a successful range for Selfridges but there is definitely an increasing number of discerning customers who are more and more willing to try something out of the ordinary. Sales are currently very strong having grown 20% in the last 12 months."

In the UK, chefs report some success in encouraging their diners to eat creepy-crawlies. Daniel Creedon, head chef and manager of Archipelago restaurant in central London, buys frozen cricket and locusts in bulk from a supplier on the Isle of Wight. He says: "They are very popular and not just because of their quirkiness. I think our diners are genuinely interested in sustainability and diminishing food supplies. I bake them in the oven until they are crisp and then toss them in a wok with chilli and ginger as in my experience customers tend to be squeamish about anything that is soft and squidgy."



The most commonly eaten insect species on the planet

1. Beetles and cockroaches

2. Flies

3. Lice and coccidia

4. Cicadas

5. Wasps, bees and ants

6. Termites

7. Butterflies and moths

8. Dragonflies

9. Crickets and grasshoppers

10. Mantises