Montreal, Quebec 2014

EATING INNOVATION: THE ART, CULTURE, SCIENCE AND BUSINESS OF ENTOMOPHAGY.

Eating Innovation 2014
Please click on the image to view or download the conference program.

The brainchild of Aruna Antonella Handa, of Alimentary Initiatives and Elke Grenzer of the Culture of Cities Centre, the conference, Eating Innovation: the art, culture, science and business of entomophagy was North America's first international conference on edible insects.  Co-hosted by  the Culture of Cities Centre, Alimentary Initiatives and Anne Charpentier of the Insectarium, part of the complex called Space for Life in Montreal, the conference brought together those working in this emerging sector as well as those interested in its development. Panels and sessions were designed to enable delegates to strategize how best to fill research gaps, to lay the foundations, both strong and agile, and to establish standards with a view to building a food sector that is at once emerging and yet ancient, regional and yet global: a business opportunity fueled by imagination, hard work and innovation.
 

The delegates to this conference came across sectors and academic disciplines, and included veterans of entomophagy as well as those  just beginning to contemplate work in this arena.

Knowledge translation took place on site with three events open to both delegates and the general public. Engaging the public in this work was crucial to us and for that reason we staged the Discovery Gallery of art and commerce, the Future Food Salon Montreal, which took place in the Botanical Gardens, and a nine-course banquet of edible bugs with no other animal products in the menu. The Big Bang Bug Banquet's nine courses drew their inspiration from each of the planets in the solar system. We must also thank the chefs, the artists, the translators, volunteers and professionals and artists of every description who  worked to make this conference a success