Welcome insects to the human food chain

The historic decision that the European Union last week to approve the insects for human consumption it was a victory for larvae and worms – and for people – around the world. The approval gives a kind of dignity to the tiny protein-rich microbeasts that we foolishly dismiss as pests, and offers a clear signal that the insect protein industry is poised for significant growth. Above all, it paves the way for an alternative protein source that should play a critical role in feeding a hotter and more populated world.

Before this triggers your gag reflex, let’s be clear: For most consumers, the EU’s decision won’t translate into bugs in your burgers and mealworms in your macaroni. Yes, insects will play a much more integral role in human food systems in the future, but they probably won’t be a direct form of protein. Instead, they are becoming an increasingly valuable indirect food source: a raw material for poultry, farmed fish, pigs and cattle that are currently fattened on environmentally expensive soy and corn feeds.

Humans have consumed edible insects, from crickets and grasshoppers to fire ants and termites, since before the dawn of civilization, and 80% of the world’s population, throughout Asia, Africa, and Latin America, continues to eat today. insects But American consumers have struggled to adopt them, even though the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the insects for human consumption years ago. A niche market emerged with snacks like Chirp Chips and Exo protein bars. And when the FDA approved them for pet food earlier this year, brands like Purina began sourcing insects for their products.

But the biggest opportunity lies further down the food chain, as a game-changing ingredient in livestock feed. President Joe Biden’s FDA should make the necessary regulatory changes to clear the way for increased supply of insects to animal feed markets.

In 2020, global investments in insect protein nearly doubled to about $ 475 million, and analysts expect the market to exceed $ 4.1 billion in the next five years. A recent Rabobank report projects that the 10,000 metric tons of insects currently being cultivated each year will rise to 500,000 metric tons annually by 2030.

The animal feed industry, meanwhile, is much larger: it is expected to reach US $ 460,000 million in 2026, compared to US $ 345,000 million in 2020. This sector is highly dependent on the cultivation of cereals, which requires a intensive use of water and carbon, at a time when the cost of agrochemical inputs is increasing and freshwater resources are less and less reliable. Globally, animal farms consume more than a third of total cereal production. In the US, the ratio is close to half. Insect-based animal feed could be this industry’s best option for increasing weather resistance, while helping to manage the food waste crisis.

The environmental benefits of insect proteins, for both human and animal consumption, are staggering. Black soldier fly larvae, in particular, show promise: Known in the industry by the acronym BSFL, these infant critters serve as high-quality chicken and fish feed and require 1,000 times less soil per unit of protein produced compared to the soy production, between 50 and 100 times less water and zero agrochemical inputs.

BSFLs have the remarkable advantage that they feed on our food waste, which we produce rampantly, especially in the US Each kilo of larvae can chew 3.5 kilograms of methane-emitting food scraps, playing an important role in maintaining the organic waste out of landfills and recover those nutrients so they can re-enter the food chain. In addition, the larvae produce a valuable by-product: their excrement is a fertilizer rich in nitrogen and microorganisms, capable of restoring the quality of the soil and improving its carbon storage capacity.

However, insect protein remains a small fraction of the total animal feed market, largely due to cost: while a unit of bird feed costs several hundred dollars and fish feed about US $ 1,000, insect food can cost more than $ 2,000. As the industry grows, these costs will decline rapidly, but the FDA must introduce key regulatory changes within the American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) to help the industry expand.

The AAFCO, which is currently run by state officials, should organize itself more centrally under the FDA and focus on reforms in three key areas: increasing the varieties of insects that can be grown (currently only one small handful of species); expand the uses of these insect proteins (now only allowed in certain pet foods and some poultry and aquaculture applications); and, above all, expand the raw materials allowed to breed these insects, which currently can only be fed with pre-consumer food waste. Allowing insect farmers to use post-consumer food waste, of which Americans produce about 60 billion kilos a year, would be a huge boost to growth.

There is no doubt that insect proteins can change the paradigm of our food system towards sustainability and that this fledgling industry has enormous economic and environmental potential. The EU gave a powerful vote of confidence; now investors and regulators must help usher in this climate-smart future.