The livestock feed industry is facing the challenge of sustainability in the midst of a complex context marked by climate change, the energy crisis and volatile grain prices. In this scenario, insect protein has emerged as a promising alternative for animal feed in crucial sectors, such as aquaculture or swine. This new industry will bring to market millions of tons of product per year over the next decade. And it will do so without competing with human consumption and with minimal environmental impact to meet the needs of an expanding market.
Co-founder and CTO
Tebrio
The fact that alternative sources of protein will minimize the environmental impact of the agrifood sector is something that no one is unaware of. And if they are emerging so strongly, it is largely because the agricultural production system is not sustainable in the long term.
According to figures from the UN Food and Agriculture Agency (FAO), the traditional agri-food sector is responsible for one third of the world’s annual greenhouse gas emissions. And the worst thing is that even then it will not be able to produce enough food for the world’s population in the near future. Hence the urgency of finding new sources of supply that are both sustainable in the long term and environmentally friendly.
At first glance, the challenge seems unattainable, but it is not. And the painful energy crisis we are going through, believe it or not, can give us the impetus we need to definitively face the transition to a new model that will allow us to be more efficient and at the same time strengthen the industry.
SCALABILITY AND EFFICIENCY
Among the new sources of protein that have been making their way for years are insects. And of these, the Tenebrio molitor or mealworm is one of the most interesting ones. The industry is new, but not newborn. The solutions it provides have been proven and regulated for years in the animal feed sector. And the scalability of the production model has already been implemented, allowing companies in the sector to compete with other raw materials at or very close to market prices.
That’s not to say that this novel source of protein will replace existing ones, because they will all still be needed. But it will bring a new perspective to the industry and millions of tons per year of sustainable products with minimal environmental impact.
The figures are well known, but it is worth recalling them because they represent a key element in the development of the sector: a vertical mealworm farm needs 95% less arable land and 98% less water to produce 500% more premium protein than any other farm.
The facilities where this species is reared and processed do not generate any waste, since in addition to the protein and fat extracted from the larvae, the insect’s excrement is used to manufacture a biofertilizer that is suitable for organic farming. And once the worm has transformed into a beetle, from it we can get chitin, a polymer with dozens of bioindustrial applications, from the manufacture of biodegradable plastics to the treatment of wastewater, as well as medical, pharmaceutical or cosmetic uses.
To close the circle, these farms have been conceived and designed to be powered almost exclusively by renewable energies, which in the end results in a negative carbon footprint, since not only are they non-polluting factories, but their products allow the industries that use them to pollute less.
Mealworms, like the six other insects currently approved by the European Union for animal feed formulation, have four main markets: aquaculture, swine, poultry and the pet segment. However, it is the first two that can have the greatest impact on the environment.
IN THE AQUACULTURE INDUSTRY
The aquaculture industry has long been looking for new feed sources to reduce dependence on processed fishmeal obtained from offshore catches. And among the alternatives being considered, insects are one of the most interesting options.
Tenebrio molitor meal can have a protein concentration higher than 72%. And its ratio between digestible protein and crude protein by pepsic digestion is higher than 90%. It has less than 7% fat and its ash does not reach 5%.
All this translates into an improvement of the metabolic behavior of fry and juveniles, since the animals need less energy to synthesize the amino acids and proteins present in this ingredient. And thus, the immune system is indirectly strengthened as well. The latest study carried out with rainbow trout and sea bream indicates that fish fed with tenebrio meal develop more robustly, show a lower degree of stress and are more resistant to the pathogens they face in the water, which in turn allows a reduction of antibiotic use.
The same was found with juvenile sea bass fed for six weeks with this type of protein. Specifically, it was concluded that the antibacterial activity of lysozyme and the inhibition of trypsin were significantly higher. This suggests that these insects have an immunostimulant effect and promote antiparasitic activity. Or in other words: they increase the resistance of fish to certain diseases.
Something similar happens with the Pacific white shrimp. This species has a high rate of early mortality when reared in captivity. But by replacing 50% of the fishmeal with insect protein, a better feed conversion can be achieved, which ultimately strengthens growth and reduces the rate of immunosuppression, probably due to the chitin content of the insects and other biofuels that counteract pathogenic infections.
In the case of juvenile catfish, studies point in the same direction. In one of them, four diets were proposed with 9, 18 and 27 grams of Tenebrio molitor meal per 100 grams of feed. And it was observed that those specimens fed with at least 25% insect protein developed a significantly higher resistance to the bacterium Edwardsiella ictaluri, responsible for enteric septicemia.
For decades, the aquaculture sector has used fishmeal as the main source of protein for its feed. But due to marine overexploitation, alternatives are needed to maintain or expand production. Because to get a kilo of fish meat in captivity, the industry needs up to four kilos of catches that are later transformed into feed.
On the other hand, vegetable meals are much cheaper and relatively abundant, but their amino acid profile is far from that of insects. And they require a greater use of feed additives, which in large doses could cause organoleptic changes in carnivorous species.
FOR THE SWINE SECTOR
The swine sector has a similar need. The recent ban on zinc oxide as a feed ingredient has forced the industry to look for new alternatives to combat piglet mortality. And again, insects may be part of the solution.
Since June 26th, this chemical compound cannot be used in medicated feed, because once it is released into the environment through slurry, it represents a dangerous threat. Zinc oxide does not solubilize easily, nor does it degrade, nor is it assimilated by bacterial life in the soil, which means that it can pollute groundwater in a short period of time. This implies that the environmental risks associated with its use are greater than the benefits it can bring in the short term.
Farmers must now find an alternative to replace that additive, which was used to control early mortality caused by E. coli bacteria. And they must do so urgently, since the law has also drastically restricted the use of antibiotics.
The key to combat those dangerous gastric infections that threaten piglets may lie in nutrition. Tenebrio molitor meal has a minimum degree of processing and has been shown to improve both the apparent and standardized digestibility of feed, favoring the use of all the ingredients that compose it. And especially, of some essential amino acids that can help the animal’s growth, such as Histidine, Arginine and Cysteine.
At an optimal concentration of up to 10% of the diet, this protein produces improvements in the immunological indicators IgG and IgA. And at the same time, it reduces the fecal concentration of Salmonella and E. coli. To complete the diet, synthetic amino acids and by-products such as olive pomace polyphenols and sodium butyrate can be included.
It is estimated that between 10% and 15% of piglets die during the first two weeks of life. And one of the main causes of this premature mortality rate is gastric infections, which lead to severe diarrhea, weakening the animal to the point of exhaustion. All this leads to multi-million dollar economic losses for a key sector in the agri-food industry.
THE FUTURE AHEAD
The technology is ready and the nutritional properties of insects have long been known, since many animals consume them naturally in the wild. All we have to do is to adjust the protein and fat percentages for each species so that we get the best possible results. And that’s something the industry has been working on for years.
Far from supplanting or substituting the raw materials we already know and which are still necessary, insect protein complements them to obtain a better and more sustainable product. And by using it, we would optimize the resources we have to prevent animal and human consumption from entering into competition. In fact, if we used just 10% insect protein in feed formulation, we could free up millions of hectares of grain crops for human consumption. And so, we would counteract the grain shortages and market volatility unleashed by the war in Ukraine.
About Sabas de Diego
Sabas has an academic background in Chemical Engineering and almost 20 years of experience in the agri-food sector. In 2014, he founded Tebrio together with Adriana Casillas, leading the technological development and supervising the team of engineers and scientists on which rests the activity of a worldwide pioneer company in the breeding and processing of insects.
Previously, he managed the technical team of the Maguisa slaughterhouse in Salamanca, Spain, where he developed a deep knowledge of the agri-food industry and the legislation regulating it. During that time, he managed R&D projects in the swine sector and handled budgets above 12 million euros.
