Welcome to the ProTerra Insecta V1.0 (or simply Insecta), training course.
It is a pleasure to be working with you and we are glad to have you in this ProTerra Insecta Auditor training course!
Background
Food plays an important role in our lives, and we all want food that is healthy, delicious, accessible, affordable, and environmentally and socially responsible – in a word, sustainable. Meeting future demand for feeding our growing population, and doing so sustainably, forces us to make choices both as individuals and as a society. The ProTerra Insecta certification program responds to the growing demand for products (food and feed), that are produced according to higher standards of ethics, social responsibility, and environmental sustainability. ProTerra not only establishes standards for corporate social and environmental responsibility in the food and feed sectors but also fosters a culture of continuous improvement of a company’s systems, processes, and practices.
There is an urgent need to find alternatives to conventional meat products as cattle raising is a relevant cause of anthropogenic-induced climate change, including deforestation. Sustainable diets are needed based on the use of alternative protein sources. In this respect, insects are an alternative and have traditionally been used as food and feed in several parts of the world. They are a much more sustainable source of protein as, among other aspects, their production requires a significantly smaller area of land (reducing the impact of land conversion and deforestation), and there is reduced emission of greenhouse gases (associated with the enteric fermentation from cattle).
However, insect processing on an industrial scale should, to be fully sustainable, include an additional series of requirements related to human rights, workers’ health and safety, relation with community, control of the release of pollutants to the air and water among others. ProTerra has therefore created ProTerra Insecta to cover these sustainable topics within the insect food/feed supply chain and in this way contribute to empowering farms and businesses to become vectors of environmentally and socially responsible business practices.
About this training
ProTerra audits take place in many regions of the world, and since social, economic and environmental factors are complex and country-specific, we rely on the expertise and language skills of local auditors to capture this complexity. The recent emergence of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), is shifting the paradigm of the educational experience, making it possible to reach a greater number of qualified auditors. Because of this, we have the opportunity to interact on a scale previously impossible due to technical limitations. We’ve structured this learning tool to emphasize communication among you and your classmates, and between you and us, via distance learning. An important part of the learning will take place in the forums, where you will post your thoughts and ideas and discuss those of others. If you have expertise in a specific topic, we want to hear from you.
The purpose of this course is to train Auditors to carry out ProTerra Insecta audits. Please note that to qualify as a ProTerra Insecta auditor you must have successfully completed the ProTerra Standard V4.1 training and must have the qualifications set forward in ANNEX A: Certification Protocol exceptions of the ProTerra Insecta Standard.
If you have not yet taken the ProTerra Standard V4.1 training, please contact us immediately so that we can make the arrangements for you to attend this course. Contact us at info@proterrafoundation.org
Course overview
To study ProTerra Insecta we rely on quizzes and readings. These activities will expose you to new ideas and promote discussion. Lectures and reading materials (PDFs) cover important topics from or related to the Standard.
This course is 3 days long and is organized around the principles of ProTerra Insecta focusing on those topics that vary in relation to ProTerra Standard 4.1 (the reason why you should be fully knowledgeable in this last). Each day we will focus on a few of these principles so that all are covered.
Although all course material will open and will remain available until the end of the course, students are requested to take activities in sequence so that all participate in the same activities at around the same period and permit the coordinators to attend to these activities and respond to questions and discussions.
The best way to complete this course is simply to start at the top of each day’s page and work your way down. The daily activities are explained in detail at the start of every new course day.
Please begin in the Introduction Forum by telling us a bit about yourself and getting acquainted with your classmates.
If you have questions about the training platform or find problems using it, please get in touch using the Technical Issues Forum or send an email to info@proterrafoundation.org
