( CNN ) -- With enough practice any hack can create a CAD rendering of a blender or produce an iPhone mockup that 'll earn hundreds of likes on Dribbble , but designing a device that convinces people to make a meal out of maggots ? That requires a special level of skill . Designer Katharina Unger is on a mission to make eating insects irresistible . The recent graduate from the University of Applied Arts in Vienna and current Fulbright Scholar devoted her thesis project , called Farm 432 : Insect Breeding , to developing an appliance that incubates insects for human consumption . The striking blue and white vessel is stocked with one gram of black soldier fly eggs , and over a period of 18 days , the eggs move through the device 's chambers , gestating , reproducing , and ultimately producing 2.4 kilograms of nutritious , if slightly nauseating , fly larva . This frightful food processor was invented to satisfy the meat cravings of the nine billion people expected to be living on Earth in 2050 . To support that population , protein production will have to double and farming , primarily livestock cultivation , already uses up half of the planet 's arable land , making it difficult to expand . Read this : Can this solar-powered watercraft save lives ? Many believe the solution will lie in entomophagy , also known as eating bugs , but getting Westerners to make insects a big part of their diet will require a marketing program the size of Mothra . Unger 's device hides the dirty and disgusting aspects of the process while employing design language from mainstream consumer products to make the concept seem more familiar . The concept unsettles many stomachs , but according to Unger , we already consume 500 grams worth of insects in our food annually . There can be up to 60 insect fragments in a 100 gram chocolate bar , and insect-infested fruits that ca n't be sold as produce are turned into juice . Starbucks even used crushed beetles to color their strawberry Frappucinos for a time . People seem willing to deal with the taste and texture of edible insects as long as they 're presented properly . Here are five design principles Unger employed to make her flies seem flavorful . Do your ( repugnant ) market research . There are approximately 1,400 edible species of insect , yet there is n't a single skeevy sommelier to educate the masses about proper pest pairings . Unger took the challenge on herself and began sampling grasshoppers , crickets , mealworms , and other vile vittles . `` I felt okay with all that , but grabbing/touching the animals was gross , '' she says . `` I knew the only way people would grow insects at home was without having to touch them . '' This informed the design of the appliance and users never have to touch the insects until it 's time to cook . Read this : The 'talking ' streetlamps that save energy . Make the disgusting delightful . While most of her classmates were making models of cars or furniture , Unger was harvesting insects . Initially suspicious , her peers eventually came to appreciate the eco-friendly goal and even partook in a slightly terrifying taste test . Unger attributes this open-mindedness to the way her appliance produces the flies . `` We tend to associate insects with negative imagery : destroyed crops , plagues , manure , '' she says . Her design is clean , almost to the point of being clinical , and promotes a sense of trust . `` Once people see how the larvae can be grown , that they clean themselves before they are ready to eat , they become very curious and forget their prejudices . '' Create a community to go with your contraption . The idea of eating bugs may seem bizarre now , but blogs devoted to entomophagy are popping up and award winning chefs have begun integrating creepy-crawlies into their cuisine . With the right products and promotion , Unger thinks the distasteful could eventually become delicacies . `` It is comparable with the backyard chicken movement or growing vegetables on your balcony , '' she says . `` There are almost 2,000 edible insect species . The variety of tastes and different dishes is endless . We miss out a lot by not considering this food source ! '' Pollinate your idea . Unger did n't stop at growing the flies â€ ” she also developed recipes , including a stellar tomato and larva risotto , to help make the icky output more enticing . She 's now working out how changing the diet of the larva would impact taste . `` I always speculated what happened if I gave them just one specific type of food , '' she says . `` Maybe you could make them taste like strawberries ? '' Create buzz . Turning insects into a protein powder or peanut butter-like substance could help introduce edible insects to the mass market more smoothly , but Unger wanted her project to make a statement . `` I felt it would be inconsequential to suddenly hide the main product away , '' she says . `` In the end it is not only about producing food , but also about the adventure of growing live animals in your home ! '' Subscribe to WIRED magazine for less than $ 1 an issue and get a FREE GIFT ! Click here ! Copyright 2011 Wired.com .
Austrian designer Martin Unger invented an appliance that harvests insects for us to eat . Over 100 days black widow fly eggs reproduce to make 2.4 kilograms of nutritious fly larva . It was invented to meet the protein needs of the nine species expected to be on Earth in future .