Cantonese people, according to an old saying, eat anything that flies or has legs on the ground, except for airplanes, tables and chairs.

While many people from outside Guangdong province shun insects as food, bug dishes are common on dinner tables in the province, long known for its delicious Cantonese fare. The dishes include fried crickets, bee pupae and other interesting crawly things.

But before you let your gag reflex take over, be advised that the insect epicureans are now backed by experts and nutritionists at home and abroad.

Chen Letian, vice-president of South China Agricultural University, said the world is now facing a protein resource shortage and ecological pressure.

"The development of efficient and sustainable new feed and food protein has become an urgent need," Chen said at the 19th Forum of Guangdong Zhonghengshan, an international symposium on insects as feed and food, along with sustainable food security solutions. The event was held at the university earlier this month.

"The forum is not only a platform for academic exchange, but also promotes interdisciplinary cooperation and international resource integration. And it helps traditional agriculture transform into a new industrial format to serve the country's food security strategy," he said.

Chen Rong, an official with the Guangdong Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said that insects, as strategic resources with high protein and low environmental costs, provide a new way to expand food resources.

He said technological innovation was at the core of what he called the "big food concept" — which aims to achieve a dual breakthrough in both the quantity and quality of the food supply through optimizing the agricultural industry chain and strengthening tech support.

Hu Wenfeng, an associate professor at the College of Food Science of South China Agricultural University, said that many insects are edible and contain abundant nutrients needed by humans, especially proteins, fats, vitamins, trace elements, minerals and other essentials.

"People actually have a long history of eating insects, including crickets, grasshoppers, bamboo bugs, cicada pupa and bee pupa, although insect dishes have yet become mainstream," he said.

In addition to deep frying, insects can be cooked with salt and pepper and spices.

Many restaurants specializing in Yunnan cuisine offer insects to diners, Hu said, adding that people in the southwestern province have a long history of eating them.

Hu said that insect dishes will have great development prospects in the months to come and will become a new and sustainable protein sources for humans.

"Insects are converted into insect protein — sustainable protein — after they have eaten soybean residue, distillers' grains, rice straw, apple pomace, grape pomace and other kitchen waste. So they do not increase carbon dioxide emissions," Hu said.

Many countries in the Americas and Europe, as well as Japan, South Korea and Singapore include insects in their edible food lists, so they enter the human food chain, he said.

According to a farm restaurant owner in Guangzhou's Huangpu district, the insect dishes attract a certain clientele every day.

"Fried insects and bugs, seasoned with salt and pepper, are crispy and delicious and a big lure for diners," said the restaurant owner.

More than that, some people think that certain insects used in cooking are effective against impotence and children's frequent urination, added the owner.

More than 200 experts, scholars, entrepreneurs and industry representatives from around the world explored the future of insect resource development and sustainable food safety during the event at South China Agricultural University.

At the forum, Yin Yulong, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and his team proposed cross-industry applications of insect resources in medicine, environmental protection and other fields.

Teun Veldkamp, a professor at Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands, and Siegfried Roth, a professor at the University of Cologne's Institute of Zoology, shared cutting-edge achievements on topics such as the industrial production of insect protein and ecological breeding technology. Special insect dishes were also displayed on the sidelines of the forum.

"Since experts have said insects are edible, I will try more insect dishes in the future," a local diner said, adding that "fried insects are tasty".

Li Qiaoshun contributed to this story.