ISSUE FOCUS 58 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE October 2022 About Volant Wills Volant Wills is the current Head of Facilities at Canberra of the Australia-based insect waste management start-up Goterra. He has operated the Agriprotein Facility in Cape Town, South Africa as part of their Global Development team in the USA, the Netherlands, Belgium and Singapore. Volant’s ability to ensure product compliance comes with his working experience in PepsiCo and Vital Health, major food and pharmaceutical/ nutraceutical industries respectively within South Africa. and the cost of fuel to import soya increases domestic costs. To secure our supply chains and reduce Scope 3 emissions, we must look to methods that produce feed domestically from otherwise wasted organics, like BSF. THE FUTURE OF INSECTS AS FEED There is currently an available supply of insects to the feed and additive industries. The base components of the larvae have properties that will benefit the health and wellbeing of animals when included in their feed. Research and understanding the gut microbiome of the larvae, especially to promote AMPs (antimicrobial peptides) for use as an inclusion antibiotics in agriculture is a priority. This understanding will further valorise waste, however we will still benchmark this against traditional protein sources. Alternatively, the fatty acids that make up the oil component of the larvae are rich in lauric acid, which has applications as a rapid growth agent when added to feed products. Industry and academic collaboration is strongly committed to realising these benefits. CAN WE TRULY CREATE A CIRCULAR ECONOMY FOR ANIMAL FEED? As discussed, the wastes that society generates will change in response to climate change and food insecurity. We must consider the usage of sewage and effluent as a substrate. To achieve this, research is required to understand the levels of inclusion of undesirable material, including pathogens, bacteria, heavy metals, and microplastics which will be contained by the gut biome of the larvae. Thus, the case can be made that they are safe for inclusion to animal feed and thus closing the circular economy for feed. 1Rabobank, ‘Insect Protein as Animal Feed Creating Global Buzz’ https://www.rabobank.com.au/ media-releases/2021/210305-insect-protein-as-animal-feed-creating-global-buzz/
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