Abstract
Insects have always represented a key factor for agriculture since crop production has constantly depended on pollination. In recent years, the use of pesticides, the reduction in land availability, the changes in environmental conditions, and the rise of invasive species endangered the traditional pollinators’ life. The economic and ecological importance of these insects led the European Commission to carry on a specific policy to protect bees.
However, pollination is not the only significant role that bugs can play in agriculture. Beneficial insects are also successful “weapons,” when associated with other forms of crop protection, in the integrated pest management. This function is of paramount importance when referring to organic agriculture, where insects are further expressly included in the notion of “animal production.”
Insects can, however, play additional innovative roles in agriculture, turning to be promising solutions for the emerging issues concerning the environment, and the sufficiency of feed and food supplies.
Any innovative approach leads to new questions, in a law perspective. Starting from the traditional roles of insects in agriculture (pollination and pest management), the paper will focus on their newest functions (insects as waste reducers and as sources of feed and food), paying particular attention to the emerging relevant legal issues, both at an international level and at an EU level: the existence of harmonized regulatory frameworks, questions related to animal welfare, organizational aspects of the breeding systems, and above all safety and environmental concerns. It will finally draw some conclusions, wondering what aspects could be improved and to what extent.
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Notes
- 1.
Holt (1885), pp. 3–99.
- 2.
Albrecht et al. (2012), p. 4845.
- 3.
- 4.
Klein (2007), p. 306.
- 5.
ELO-ECPA (2013), p. 1.
- 6.
UNEP (2010), p. 5.
- 7.
UNEP (2010), pp. 6–7.
- 8.
- 9.
Unlikely other pollinators, Apis mellifera is not a wild insect, but it falls under the category of domesticated animals. This is not a mere information provided for its own sake, since identifying animals like livestock, rather than wild insects, might imply submitting them to stricter rules concerning farming.
- 10.
UNEP (2010), p. 2.
- 11.
Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, Decision V/5 on Agricultural biological diversity: review of phase I of the programme of work and adoption of a multi-year work programme. https://www.cbd.int/decision/cop/default.shtml?id=7147. Accessed 01 October 2016.
- 12.
COP Decision V/5, on Agricultural biological diversity: review of phase I of the programme of work and adoption of a multi-year work programme, para 15. https://www.cbd.int/decision/cop/default.shtml?id=7147. Accessed 01 October 2016.
- 13.
Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, Decision VI/5. https://www.cbd.int/decision/cop/default.shtml?id=7179. Accessed 01 October 2016.
- 14.
FAO (undated-a).
- 15.
Commission Regulation (EC) 917/2004 of 29 April 2004 on detailed rules to implement Council Regulation (EC) 797/2004 on actions in the field of beekeeping, OJ [2004] L 163/83.
- 16.
European Commission DG Agriculture and Rural Development (2013a). Besides the rural development measures, the new Common Agricultural Policy provides tools aimed to have positive effects on bees, like the compulsory greening measures in the Regulation (EU) 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 establishing rules for direct payments to farmers under support schemes within the framework of the common agricultural policy and repealing Council Regulation (EC) 637/2008 and Council Regulation (EC) 73/2009, OJ [2013] L 347/608.
- 17.
Commission Regulation (EU) 87/2011 of 2 February 2011 designating the EU reference laboratory for bee health, laying down additional responsibilities and tasks for that laboratory and amending Annex VII to Regulation (EC) 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council, OJ [2011] L 29/1, repealed by Commission Regulation (EU) 415/2013 of 6 May 2013 laying down additional responsibilities and tasks for the EU reference laboratories for rabies, bovine tuberculosis and bee health, amending Regulation (EC) 737/2008 and repealing Regulation (EU) 87/2011, OJ [2013] L 125/7.
- 18.
EFSA (2008).
- 19.
EFSA (2015).
- 20.
Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the “Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on organic production and labelling of organic products, amending Regulation (EU) XXX/XXX of the European Parliament and of the Council (Official Controls Regulation) and repealing Council Regulation (EC) 834/2007 COM(2014) 180 final-2014/0100 (COD), OJ [2015] C 12/75”.
- 21.
- 22.
WTO Dispute Settlement Japan-Apples DS245.
- 23.
Secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention (2006) International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures ISPM 1.
- 24.
Secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention (2006) International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures ISPM 3: 3–7.
- 25.
EU Commission (2013b), Annex II, A) and Annex VIII, Paragraph on Environmental impacts—sustainability.
- 26.
Decision 1600/2002/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 July 2002 laying down the Sixth Community Environment Action Programme, OJ [2002] L 242/1.
- 27.
Directive 2009/128/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 establishing a framework for Community action to achieve the sustainable use of pesticides, OJ [2009] L 309/71.
- 28.
See, for instance, Commission Recommendation 2014/63/EU of 6 February 2014 on measures to control Diabrotica virgifera virgifera Le Conte in Union areas where its presence is confirmed, OJ [2014] L 38/46.
- 29.
Barnard et al. (1998), pp. 600–605; Čičková et al. (2012); Van Zanten et al. (2015), pp. 362–369; Tabassum et al. (2016); Salomone et al. (2017). See also the Communication plan and Layman’s Report on the project ECODIPTERA, Implementation of a management model for the ecologically sustainable treatment of pig manure in the Region of Los Serranos, Valencia-Spain. LIFE05 ENV/E/000302. http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/project/Projects/index.cfm?fuseaction=search.dspPage&n_proj_id=2897. Accessed 01 October 2016.
- 30.
According to Sheppard and Newton (2001), the pollution potential might reduce up to 50–60% or more.
- 31.
Sheppard and Newton (2001).
- 32.
Nguyen et al. (2015), pp. 406–410.
- 33.
Regulation (EC) 767/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 on the placing on the market and use of feed, amending European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) 1831/2003 and repealing Council Directive 79/373/EEC, Commission Directive 80/511/EEC, Council Directives 82/471/EEC, 83/228/EEC, 93/74/EEC, 93/113/EC and 96/25/EC and Commission Decision 2004/217/EC, OJ [2009] L 229/1.
- 34.
FAO (undated-b), p 2.
- 35.
Sánchez-Muros et al. (2014), p. 16.
- 36.
FAO (undated-b).
- 37.
Regulation (EC) 767/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 on the placing on the market and use of feed, amending European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) 1831/2003 and repealing Council Directive 79/373/EEC, Commission Directive 80/511/EEC, Council Directives 82/471/EEC, 83/228/EEC, 93/74/EEC, 93/113/EC and 96/25/EC and Commission Decision 2004/217/EC, OJ [2009] L 229/1.
- 38.
Regulation (EC) 183/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 January 2005 laying down requirements for feed hygiene, OJ [2005] L 35/1.
- 39.
Directive 2002/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 May 2002 on undesirable substances in animal feed, OJ [2002] L 140/10.
- 40.
Regulation (EC) 1069/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 laying down health rules as regards animal by-products and derived products not intended for human consumption and repealing Regulation (EC) 1774/2002, OJ [2009] L 300/1.
- 41.
Regulation (EC) 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 laying down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, OJ [2001] L 147/1.
- 42.
Commission Regulation (EU) 56/2013 of 16 January 2013 amending Annexes I and IV to Regulation (EC) 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, OJ [2013] L 21/3.
- 43.
Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/893 of 24 May 2017 amending Annexes I and IV to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Annexes X, XIV and XV to Commission Regulation (EU) No 142/2011 as regards the provisions on processed animal protein, OJ [2017] L 138/92 has recently clarified limits and conditions for the use of insects only in aquaculture feedstuffs.
- 44.
See Sect. 4.2.
- 45.
The FAO program on edible insects started on 2003, see http://www.fao.org/forestry/edibleinsects/en/. Accessed 01 October 2016.
- 46.
FAO-WUR (2013), p. 161.
- 47.
See, for instance, the standards for certain pulses, for oats, for sorghum grains, for rice, for wheat flour, for peanuts, etc. as well as the recommended international code of hygienic or the general standard for contaminants and toxins in food and feed. See http://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/standards/en/. Accessed 01 October 2016.
- 48.
Codex Alimentarius Commission (2010) p. 17, para 140.
- 49.
Ibid., para 141.
- 50.
Ibid., para 206.
- 51.
On the occasion, the representative of FAO informed the Committee of the work that the organization was carrying on under the FAO’s Technical Cooperation Project “Sustainable insect farming and harvesting for better nutrition, improved food security and household income generation”, Codex Alimentarius Commission (2013), para 208.
- 52.
Codex Alimentarius Commission (2014).
- 53.
Codex Alimentarius Commission (2015), paras 79–84.
- 54.
Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on novel foods, amending Regulation (EU) 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Regulation (EC) 258/97 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Regulation (EC) 1852/2001, OJ [2015] L 327/1.
- 55.
Regulation (EC) 258/97 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 January 1997 concerning novel foods and novel food ingredients, OJ [1997] L 43/1.
- 56.
On this “oversight”, refer to Gleadle (2011), para 4.12.
- 57.
Council Regulation (EC) 834/2007 of 28 June 2007 on organic production and labelling of organic products and repealing Regulation (EEC) 2092/91, OJ [2007] L 189/1.
- 58.
Paganizza (2016).
- 59.
Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on novel foods, amending Regulation (EU) 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Regulation (EC) 258/97 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Regulation (EC) 1852/2001, OJ [2007] L 327.
- 60.
EFSA (2014), p. 10: “Potential safety issues may arise by the use of insects as food and feed as (i) new hazards in terms of pathogens (for humans, plants and animals) or introduction of pests, animal and plant diseases into the EU, (ii) new or increased exposure to contaminants (e.g. pesticides, natural toxins like venoms and stings, heavy metals, processing/veterinary residues) and (iii) allergenicity (e.g. by the presence of chitin, which has been associated to asthma)”.
- 61.
EFSA (2014), p. 10.
- 62.
Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on novel foods, COM/2013/0894 final - 2013/0435 (COD).
- 63.
See Whereas 15, Article 3(2)(c), and Articles 14–20 of Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on novel foods, amending Regulation (EU) 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Regulation (EC) 258/97 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Regulation (EC) 1852/2001, OJ [2015] L 327/1.
- 64.
Article 15(2) of Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on novel foods, amending Regulation (EU) 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Regulation (EC) 258/97 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Regulation (EC) 1852/2001, OJ [2015] L 327/1.
- 65.
See Article 16 of Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on novel foods, amending Regulation (EU) 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Regulation (EC) 258/97 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Regulation (EC) 1852/2001, OJ [2015] L 327/1.
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Paganizza, V. (2017). Insects in Agriculture: Traditional Roles and Beyond. In: Alabrese, M., Brunori, M., Rolandi, S., Saba, A. (eds) Agricultural Law. LITES - Legal Issues in Transdisciplinary Environmental Studies, vol 1. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64756-2_8
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