Feed & Additive Magazine Issue 2 March 2021

SPECIAL STORY FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE March 2021 51 From BSF farming, the available products are: live larvae, dried larvae, defatted BSF meal, and BSF oil. The two latter, BSF meal and BSF oil can be in- tegrated in compound feed for many species, from poultry to fish, from shrimps to pets. Many studies have already been published in the scientific litera- ture. Many trials have been achieved by insect pro- ducing companies, research centres, and even feed companies. Insect can be considered as a valuable feed ingredient. How are insect-based proteins different from other proteins? How do they contribute to animal nutrition in terms of nutritional value, productivity and health? Insect proteins vary greatly from one species to another, but also from one stage of development to another - larva vs. adult, and also depending on their diet. They are often compared to fishmeal or soybean meal because they are the two most used sources of protein in animal feed. In general, insects have a lower protein rate than fishmeal (40-60%), but not all insect proteins are equal and the Amino Acid (AA) composition is very taxon dependent. Coleoptera and Orthoptera have an essential AA profile closer to soybean and Dip- tera, like BSF, closer to fishmeal and is better bal- anced than soybean meal. There are many studies, which demonstrate that including insect meal promotes growth and can improve the health of farm animals. Animal wel- fare can also be stimulated by live insects inducing natural behaviour. Nutritionally, although insect protein differs from fishmeal, it generally meets the needs of poultry and aqua species very well. Insect meal is one of the ingredients used in the compound feed of various species. It is valuable to complete the food and balance it to meet the needs of the animal. How will insects contribute to sustainability in livestock and animal food production? What are the future promises of the insect industry for sustainable production? The environmental benefits of insect farming to- ward a sustainable production are: It uses less land and water, greenhouse gas emis- sions are lower, the feed conversion ratio is high, and last but not least, insect farming has a biocon- version potential: insects can transform low-value organic by-products into high-quality food or feed, creating a circular economy loop; hence they reach and even exceed market expectations. What is the current production amount of the insect industry? How much of this can meet the demand in the feed industry? The feed industry is a huge market. Insect pro- duction is today still marginal, but it is gaining momentum. It should be mentioned that in South- east Asia, funding for insect farming is less import- ant than in Europe or in North America, hence, the development of the sector is slower. Howev- er, the insect as feed sector is strengthening. The industrial projects are meeting the feed industry in terms of quantity, quality, and price. As I men- tioned earlier, insect protein production is part of alternative protein production, promoting circular economy and sustainability. The time for change is now.