Insects as Food and Feed SIG Conference 2026

About This Event

The Royal Entomological Society runs a two-day conference on insects as food and feed on 19-20 November 2026 at its new London headquarters on Wenlock Road, near Old Street. The event brings together researchers, industry professionals, producers and regulators to share science, address sector challenges and explore opportunities in nutrition, circular production, regulation, scale-up and commercialisation. Tickets cost £30-£50 for RES student members, £60-£110 for members, and £120-£200 for non-members or associate members, with single-day and two-day options available. Registration closes on 13 November at 5pm, and capacity is capped at 100 attendees.

The programme features three keynote speakers: Marc Pignitter from the University of Vienna on insect oils as sustainable functional lipids, Tom Berry (former CEO of Nutrition Technologies) on building an insect-as-feed company in Asia, and Steven Barbosa from IPIFF on EU policy and regulation. The conference accepts abstracts for talks and posters across five themes: environment and economy, policy (regulation, risk and sector growth), integrated systems, scaling biology into industry (genetics, physiology and engineering), and nutrition for food and feed. The abstract deadline is 25 September at 5pm.

The event addresses a sector the Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland identify as relevant to the UK food system between 2025 and 2035, with the UK-EU SPS agreement set to reshape regulation. The FAO reports yields of around 2 kg of feed producing 1 kg of insect biomass, highlighting potential for efficient production and circular systems. Delegates at the 2025 meeting praised the breadth of topics, quality of speakers and practical insights.

Key Takeaways

• Keynotes cover insect oils as sustainable functional lipids, building an insect-as-feed company in Asia, and EU policy and regulation
• Conference themes include environment and economy, policy, integrated systems, scaling biology into industry, and nutrition
• Abstracts accepted for talks and posters until 25 September at 5pm
• Event held at RES's new London headquarters with access to the Society's library and rare books collection
• Capacity capped at 100 attendees with registration closing 13 November

Who Should Attend

• Researchers working on insect production, nutrition, genetics, physiology or circular systems
• Industry professionals in insect-as-food or insect-as-feed sectors seeking regulatory updates and commercial insights
• Producers and engineers scaling insect production systems
• Regulators and policy professionals working on food innovation and sustainability