Novel solutions and cutting-edge technology in food and feed systems will be driven by the rising cost of producing animal proteins and the growing environmental impact of agriculture and livestock farming. Using insects as a sustainable alternative protein source requires insect farming on a sufficiently large scale to substitute foods and conventional protein sources at least partially while preserving wild populations and the environment.
Scientific Coordinator
The Tomorrow Company, Portugal
INTRODUCTION
The world is facing one of the biggest challenges of how to feed a growing population projected to reach 9−10 billion in 2050, while the demand for food nutrition will be 60% higher than today. At the same time, the current food system should also have a significantly smaller negative impact on the environment [1]. Insects considered a significant global biomass resource, have emerged as potential alternative sources for substituting meat and animal protein feeds such as soybean meal and fishmeal [2]. The insect industry is an emerging bioconversion tool due to the feasibility of insects converting organic matter into value-added sources of proteins and fats for organic waste management [3].
A SUSTAINABLE ALTERNATIVE SOURCE OF PROTEINS
Scaling up food production on a global scale to meet the increased demand highlights the substantial obstacles that industry professionals, researchers, and policymakers must overcome [4]. Food systems must be improved using more sustainable and ecologically friendly practices [1]. Novel solutions and cutting-edge technology in food and feed systems will be driven by the rising cost of producing animal proteins and the growing environmental impact of agriculture and livestock farming. Using insects as a sustainable alternative protein source requires insect farming on a sufficiently large scale to substitute foods and conventional protein sources at least partially while preserving wild populations and the environment. Uncertainty exists regarding if the impact of insect production on energy needs, feed, processing, and transportation is more sustainable than conventional food sources [1]. Insects might contribute to the circular economy since they can consume food waste produced, giving these waste streams more value. The use of insects might be a strategy for increasing global food security since they have a higher feed conversion rate and produce fewer greenhouse gases when compared to conventional livestock, responsible for 15−20% of global greenhouse gas emissions [1]. In terms of feed conversion rate, to produce 1 kg of meat, 8 kg of feed is required for beef, 6 kg for sheep, 3.6 kg for pork, 2.2 kg for chicken, and 1.7 kg for cricket meat [5].
Furthermore, insect farming needs significantly less land and water than livestock rearing. Although it produces around 20% of the world’s caloric needs, livestock takes up approximately 80% of the agricultural land [6]. In addition, methane and nitrous oxide produced by livestock rearing have a significantly higher global warming potential than carbon dioxide. The waste derived from livestock, including manure and ammonia, also contributes to environmental pollution, causing nitrification and soil acidification. Regarding ammonia emissions, crickets, locusts, and mealworm larvae also compare favorably to pigs, with a tenfold difference [1,3]. The volume of water needed to produce 1 kg of edible insects is considerably lower than cattle rearing [1]. These findings show that insect farming appears more sustainable than traditional forms of protein production.
A CRITICAL RESOURCE FOR OUR FUTURE – ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Insects are the most diverse group of animals on earth and a natural resource for our future, and it is crucial to address how insects will increasingly play a role in the food and feed sector. Insects are considered a low environmental impact alternative and a high-quality protein source. From a nutritional point of view, they are a good source of amino acids, unsaturated fatty acids, micronutrients, and fiber. Moreover, they are also rich in minerals, vitamins, and several bioactive compounds with potential health benefits [2]. The effect of the production of conventional protein sources on the environment is considerable, causing deforestation, contaminating surface waters, spreading chemical pollutants, and generating greenhouse gases, and should be substantially decreased [1,2]. The recent development of insect production suggests that it’s crucial to have a comprehensive and holistic approach to performing their environmental impact assessment. However, it is a complex task considering the variety of insect species, production scales, feed ingredients, insect farming conditions, and the manufacture of different insect products [7]. Vinci, et al. [8] showed the usefulness of the Life Cycle Assessment to evaluate the impacts of protein production from mealworms and pork on the ecosystem, resources, and human health. The authors revealed a significant effect on the ecosystem, land use, climate-altering emissions, and fossil resources from pork production, in contrast with mealworm protein production. The low influence of insect protein production and the high nutritional values make edible insects a sustainable solution to growing food demand and potential future food. In another life cycle analysis study, cricket production has a lower environmental impact than pork farms. These findings were considered a valuable tool for evaluating the sustainability of animal-based food production [9]. The effectiveness, economic viability, and environmental impact of insect production must all be analyzed [7]. Insects have the potential to be an ecological, high-quality solution to meet future protein demands, and some insect proteins have proven equivalent or superior to soy protein in terms of nutritional value [2]. In addition, these organisms represent a future biological resource where their full potential has not been explored.
INSECT INDUSTRY: THE CHALLENGES
Studies on insect farming in recent literature are valuable for better understanding the main challenges related to this sector. Nevertheless, information considering the economic aspects of insect farming is scarce, and these issues need further investigation to understand how the cost-effectiveness and profitability of this sort of business can be increased [4]. Data accessibility, which is necessary for detailed analysis, is a challenge. Small-scale production rarely collects comprehensive data on their operations; hence the information is frequently lacking. Additionally, unlike the well-established feed and food sectors, insect producers do not make their data available for public use [7], increasing the difficulty of a sustainable production structure.
Furthermore, low consumer acceptance is the major challenge in edible insects’ application as viable food sources that strongly depends on cultural differences. The evaluation of sensory characteristics such as taste, flavor, and texture also vary among species and requires further consideration in product formulation and development. The lack of clear legislation to regulate insect-based products may result in complications in the production and selling processes. The costly and lengthy process might prevent the investment from producing and selling insect-based products. Besides, the study of the farming conditions, suitable rearing conditions, diet formulation, drying, and processing equipment need optimization in an industrial-scale setting, increasing the overall processing costs. Multiple issues connected with poor knowledge of risks associated with potential insect toxicity, allergenicity, nutritional quality, and disease transferability are triggering limitations of their use by policymakers. Therefore, there is a need to bridge the gap between insect producers and the decision-makers who set the rules for insect-based products. If insects are to become a significant component of the human diet, or animal feed, further research is still required to optimize production systems [10]. Furthermore, defined regulations and government incentives support market development since they have a role in facilitating a shift toward new and sustainable food solutions.
HOW WILL THE INDUSTRY LOOK IN THE FUTURE?
A new productive sector for insects as food and feed, as well as for other industrial applications, is emerging and is fast developing. The insect protein market is driven, by factors such as rising urbanization, growing venture investments in alternative protein companies, innovation in food technology, the high nutritional value of insects, and environmental sustainability. It seems clear that the marketing strategy adopted by most edible insect companies is to develop processed products (e.g., bars, bakery, meat, pasta, and pizza products) in which insects are unseen in the form of a powder or similar [11]. The growing demand for high-protein food for sports nutrition, dietetic food, or food supplements creates further opportunities. Using insect-derived ingredients in such specialized products is a niche, but it is forecasted to develop rapidly in the following years. Insect farming is a growing business in which economic aspects must be recognized [4]. Accordingly, to a survey by Meticulous Research, the insect industry is expected to increase by 27.8% annually to be worth close to USD 8 billion by 2030. In Europe, from 500 tons of insect-based products in 2019, the market is predicted to increase to 260 000 tons by 2030. Insect food business operators involve micro (81%, <10 employees), followed by small (16%, 10−50 employees) and medium-sized (3%, 50−250 employees) companies. Only 3% of them obtain investments of up to 25 million euros, with the majority receiving investments of less than 500 000 euros. Most operators are clustered in northern European nations, with the United Kingdom, Germany, and Belgium showing the highest volume, followed by the Netherlands, France, Finland, and Denmark [11]. By the middle of the decade, most of the demand for insect meals would lie in the pet food sector, followed by aquaculture. According to forecasts, the next relevant market for insects as feed operators, in terms of quantities, will be the poultry and pig markets. The growth of insect farming largely depends on the inputs available. Notably, around 30% of the food for human consumption is lost or wasted each year and could be used as insect substrates. Specific examples of such products are foodstuffs containing meat and fish or catering waste that could be safely bio-converted by insects into protein. The approval of such substrates in insect farming companies producing insects for the feed markets would play a key role in accelerating the sector’s growth. Despite the growth of this sector, particularly in Europe and the United States, agri-food supply chains face several challenges in overcoming political, legal, economic, social, and technological barriers [4].
References
1. Lange, K.W.; Nakamura, Y. Edible insects as future food: chances and challenges. Journal of future foods 2021, 1, 38-46.
2. Ros-Baró, M.; Casas-Agustench, P.; Díaz-Rizzolo, D.A.; Batlle-Bayer, L.; Adrià-Acosta, F.; Aguilar-Martínez, A.; Medina, F.-X.; Pujolà, M.; Bach-Faig, A. Edible Insect Consumption for Human and Planetary Health: A Systematic Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2022, 19, 11653.
3. Kee, P.E.; Cheng, Y.-S.; Chang, J.-S.; Yim, H.S.; Tan, J.C.Y.; Lam, S.S.; Lan, J.C.-W.; Ng, H.S.; Khoo, K.S. Insect biorefinery: A circular economy concept for biowaste conversion to value-added products. Environmental research 2023, 221, 115284.
4. Madau, F.A.; Arru, B.; Furesi, R.; Pulina, P. Insect farming for feed and food production from a circular business model perspective. Sustainability 2020, 12, 5418.
5. Rumpold, B.A.; Schlüter, O.K. Potential and challenges of insects as an innovative source for food and feed production. Innovative Food Science & Emerging Technologies 2013, 17, 1-11.
6. Ritchie, H. How much of the world’s land would we need in order to feed the global population with the average diet of a given country? Available online: https://ourworldindata.org/agricultural-land-by-global-diets (accessed on June 2023).
7. Smetana, S.; Spykman, R.; Heinz, V. Environmental aspects of insect mass production. Journal of Insects as Food and Feed 2021, 7, 553-571.
8. Vinci, G.; Prencipe, S.A.; Masiello, L.; Zaki, M.G. The Application of Life Cycle Assessment to Evaluate the Environmental Impacts of Edible Insects as a Protein Source. Earth 2022, 3, 925-938.
9. Alexander, P.; Brown, C.; Arneth, A.; Dias, C.; Finnigan, J.; Moran, D.; Rounsevell, M.D. Could consumption of insects, cultured meat or imitation meat reduce global agricultural land use? Global Food Security 2017, 15, 22-32.
10. Salter, A.M. Insect protein: a sustainable and healthy alternative to animal protein? The Journal of Nutrition 2019, 149, 545-546.
11. Mancini, S.; Sogari, G.; Espinosa Diaz, S.; Menozzi, D.; Paci, G.; Moruzzo, R. Exploring the future of edible insects in Europe. Foods 2022, 11, 455.
About José C. Soares
José C. Soares is currently the scientific coordinator at The Tomorrow Company (TTC). He joined TTC last year. Today, in this role, José is responsible for leading research and development programs to deepen the knowledge of insect products. Before joining TTC, José had nearly 20 years of experience working on various research projects at an academic level in the agri-food and healthcare sectors. José holds a master’s degree in biology from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto, followed by a Ph.D. in Biotechnology from the Catholic University.
