Commercial-scale black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) production transforms copious volumes of low-cost organic waste into high-value nutrition. In a short space of time, BSFL can flip a waste challenge into an economic opportunity. This waste-to-value method radically reduces feedstock input costs compared to conventional proteins, diminishing the risks associated with price volatility.
Founder & CEO
Oberland Agriscience Inc.
FROM WASTE TO VALUE
A quiet revolution is wriggling below the surface of our global food system, which is facing unprecedented challenges and significant economic pressure. Driven by a growing population and our increasing awareness of resource constraints, health, ethical, and environmental concerns, the demand for responsible, resilient protein sources is at the tipping point. Rising feed ingredient costs, regulatory complexities, and supply chain volatility threaten the stability of the animal feed, agriculture, aquaculture, and pet food industries. Traditional animal-derived protein sources are resource-intensive and financially unsteady. Health and environmentally conscious consumers are looking beyond traditional proteins, in search of solutions that align with their desire to address these concerns. This surge in demand is forcing livestock and pet food producers to seek out future-forward protein sources – such as insect-derived protein – as innovative solutions to the challenge of a crowded planet.
Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) are widely recognised for their environmental benefits. However, it is the larvae’s ability to valorize wastes and low-grade byproducts that deserve more recognition. Through low-cost feedstock, highly efficient nutrient conversion, and diversified product lines, the humble BSFL can have a lasting impact on local and global economic growth opportunities.
ECONOMIC PRESSURES ON TRADITIONAL PROTEIN PRODUCTION
The economic landscape for traditional protein sources has become ever more precarious. Conventional systems are failing to recognise the innovation and efficiency required to feed an increasing global population, which is expected to soar above nine billion by 2050. Agriculture faces considerable challenges when it comes to traditional protein production. Livestock farming is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with some peer reviewed studies estimating as high as 19.6% of global emissions annually. Land used for livestock farming requires massive amounts of water and energy, while contributing to deforestation. The overuse of antibiotics in animal feed is contributing to the rise of antibiotic-resistant microbes and pathogens which, when coupled with large headcount in confined spaces, leads to the swift spread of disease.
Aquaculture also faces economic and environmental pressure. Open-net pen fish farming leads to water pollution, disease, and parasite outbreaks. This pollution threatens already fragile aquatic ecosystems and fish farms are facing ever-growing pressures from local populations who want the farms removed. The aquaculture and agriculture feed industries rely heavily on wild forage fish stocks rendered into fishmeal and fish oil ingredients. Across our oceans these forage fisheries are reaching or have reached their sustainable limits, resulting in rapidly declining wild stocks. Governments around the world, including Canada, Norway, and the UK, have begun to recognize the problem and are setting strict limits on catch quotas for forage fish, such as mackerel, sardines, herring, anchovies, and menhaden. This scarcity creates economic insecurity, driving up ingredient prices and fueling uncertainty for feed producers.
The rise in consumer health awareness is not simply human-focused, it extends to our pets also. Historically, this sector has relied heavily on beef, lamb, chicken, and fish, all of which come at a high environmental cost, and exposure to fluctuating availability and price. Animal-based feed tends to be higher in saturated fat, which may contribute to pet obesity and other health problems, including allergies and intolerance to meat-based protein.
The search for an innovative, cost-effective solution is more than a fleeting trend. Collectively, these challenges are forcing the pet food, agriculture, and aquaculture feed industries to shift toward forward-thinking solutions to improve resource efficiency, reduce environmental impact, and drive economic prosperity.
BSFL: ECONOMIC AND NUTRITIONAL POWERHOUSE
By design, circular economies are more efficient, restorative systems. They seek to minimize environmental harm, while nurturing continued economic growth and resource resilience. For a circular economy to succeed, it needs to redirect wastes and by-products, revitalise natural ecosystems, and keep products and materials in use at their highest value for as long as possible.
There are several varieties of alternative protein sources available today:
• Plant-based proteins, such as pea or soy, are derived entirely from plant sources.
• Cultivated proteins, also known as cultivated meat, are real animal proteins produced by growing animal cells in a controlled, laboratory environment, independent of the living animal.
• Fungi, including yeasts, mushrooms, and molds, are organisms found on land, while microalgae are organisms found in freshwater and marine environments.
• Insect protein is derived from insects, such as black soldier fly larvae.
Alternative proteins, such as the BSFL, are uniquely equipped to reduce the environmental footprint of food production.
BSFL have emerged as a compelling nutrient-rich protein source with wide-ranging uses in aquaculture, animal feed, and agriculture. This humble sub-tropical species lives only a few weeks, but during the larval stage, produces industrial scale efficiencies. The adult black soldier fly lives only a matter of days – to mate and start the next generation of larvae. A single female fly can lay up to 800 eggs. The larvae have an outstanding ability to convert low-value organic waste streams into high-quality nutrition for a wide variety of animals and fish.
BSFL also contain an abundance of essential amino acids, micronutrients, and rich fatty acids – properties that make them an obvious substitution to conventional proteins. Packed with a highly palatable and digestible protein, BSFL-derived nutrition can rival fish meal and outshine many plant-based proteins. The amino acid profile is well balanced, including impressive levels of lysine, valine, and leucine – all significant in supporting animal growth and immunity. The considerable fat content of BSFL not only provides a dense energy source, but also functional benefits. For example, lauric acid is recognized for its antimicrobial properties, supporting gut health. The presence of such beneficial medium-chain fatty acids helps make BSFL ideally suited to livestock, aquaculture, and pet nutrition.
SO, HOW DO BSFL FIT INTO A CIRCULAR ECONOMY?
Commercial-scale BSFL production transforms copious volumes of low-cost organic waste into high-value nutrition. In a short space of time, BSFL can flip a waste challenge into an economic opportunity. This waste-to-value method radically reduces feedstock input costs compared to conventional proteins, diminishing the risks associated with price volatility.
Located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, Oberland Agriscience collects organic food waste and by-products from local food and beverage production processes. The organic materials are fed to the larvae, who voraciously consume it in a matter of days. As the larvae feast and grow, they produce waste – known as frass – and heat. In the spirit of a truly circular economy, Oberland’s closed loop approach captures the heat from the larvae to heat other parts of its facility, and the frass they produce is used as a valuable soil amendment from home gardens to large agricultural operations.
The fully grown larvae are harvested and processed into a wide variety of products – ranging from dried whole larvae used as pet and poultry treats to protein powder for incorporation into livestock and aquaculture feed, as well as frass used as a soil amendment. The versatility of BSFL-derived products creates multiple coexisting revenue streams.
Oberland uses energy efficient innovations to optimize BSFL nutrition, while also keeping our resource use and carbon outputs to a minimum, and reducing operating costs. Our facility leverages the heat generated by the larvae to provide domestic hot water and offset heating costs. The non-native fly demands a balmy 28°C to thrive, a challenge on Nova Scotia’s coal-powered grid, especially during Nova Scotia’s harsh winters. Over time, we will install solar arrays augmented with wind power to further reduce reliance on fossil energy consumption.
Oberland’s 108,000-square-foot commercial facility can process 36,500 metric tonnes of waste per year. That’s 100 metric tonnes of organic waste diverted from regional compost and landfill every day. The “waste” is transformed into 9,000 metric tonnes of wet protein and almost 10,000 metric tonnes of frass per year. We achieve this in a closed loop system that uses less land, water, and creates significantly fewer carbon emissions than traditional protein sources.
Once processed, our low-carbon footprint products are packaged and ready to ship to our customer base. This includes pet food manufacturers, poultry farms, aquaculture farms, as well as farmers and large-scale producers looking for chemical-free soil amendments for their arable land.
Transforming locally produced organic waste into high-value animal nutrition and soil amendments requires a dedicated, skilled team. Oberland’s workforce benefits from specialized training, attracting nationwide talent and supporting local employment diversity.
A MODEL OF ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRATION
Oberland is a key connector in a network of innovative Nova Scotian companies collaborating to benefit the local economic and environmental backdrop. Our ecosystem is more than circular – it’s a web economy, with byproducts from one process feeding the next. Each company mimics the natural order of things, where nothing goes to waste. We recycle, reuse, and valorize what would normally end up in landfill. One partner offers waste management services; they turn municipal solid waste, including difficult-to-recycle plastics, into new plastics and biomass pellets. While not currently approved for use as a feedstock, in the future this biomass could feed into Oberland’s process supplementing the other organic wastes and byproducts from the food manufacturing industry. Oberland’s animal nutrition and frass products then flow into local farms, including a land-based recirculating aquaculture farm producing Atlantic Salmon. Oberland’s BSFL is combined with other ingredients to produce a pharmaceutical-free, nutrient-rich feed for the salmon in the tanks. The salmon farm recycles 100 percent of its water in a closed loop system, extracting the solid waste in the process. The fish waste, insect frass, and cellulose from the waste management company can be combined to create a rich fertiliser that returns organic matter to the soil, further reducing the regional reliance on chemical fertilizers.
Nova Scotia is a hub of innovation and collaboration. Other companies fit into the web at distinct stages of the process. This network builds resilience and trust into the food system by replacing outdated practices with a steady, sustainable source of food and economic growth. Each company is committed to transparency, measuring the total impact of production and collaboration, sharing the data internally and externally. Collectively, we believe there is a large opportunity for continued collective growth. The growth potential is enormous, from aquaculture and agriculture to the pet food industry.
Growth is not a straightforward path. There are challenges and opportunities to face along the way. Canadian food safety regulations allow the use of alternative proteins in animal feed. While BSFL-derived protein is recognised by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) the registration is slow, often taking years and inhibiting market entry and scaling potential in Canada. Oberland is committed to high-quality, transparent products that customers can trust. We believe that accelerated regulatory pathways are critical to leveraging capital and expanding market success, allowing Canada and other regions to benefit from the full economic benefits of BSFL.
ECONOMIC LEADERSHIP FOR OUR FUTURE FOOD SYSTEMS
The future of resilient proteins depends as much on economic viability as environmental sustainability. Highlighting the cost efficiencies, market opportunities, revenue diversification, and local job creation strengthens the business case, addressing criticism of a purely green narrative.
The food waste problem isn’t going away and the cry for resilient food systems will continue to get louder. The team at Oberland is working to change the way our food systems work, building economic and environmental stability back into those systems. To maximise the benefits of circular economies, a coordinated effort across multiple sectors is needed sooner than later. Oberland’s approach, and that of our Nova Scotian web economy, is vastly scalable and well-suited to many locations across North America. The economic impact of our model is exciting and achievable. To truly make such initiatives the norm, we need real commitment, investment, and leadership from local, regional, and federal governments in research and technology to forge a food system that is better for the planet, and economically viable and prosperous. Linking waste producers, protein manufacturers, farmers, policymakers, and researchers helps to ensure that circular economies function effectively and scale over time.
No country is immune to economic pitfalls of the looming protein crisis. Innovative collaborations in Canada’s Maritimes demonstrate that a circular or web economy approach is a viable and scalable economic solution, marking a significant milestone on the road to regenerating our planet’s food systems.
About Dr. Greg Wanger
With a Ph.D. in Geology and Environmental Microbiology, Dr. Greg Wanger is an experienced research scientist whose career milestones include five years at the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab, culminating in their optical organics mapper, SHERLOC, landing on Mars in February 2021 with the Perseverance Rover. In 2016, Greg and his family relocated to Halifax, Nova Scotia in Atlantic Canada. Shortly after, Dr. Wanger founded Oberland Agriscience Inc. out of his desire to address the escalating global protein shortage.
Combining a life-long passion for science and innovation with environmental activism, Dr. Wanger and his team are optimizing the black soldier fly to produce a premium, nutrient-rich, reliable protein for inclusion in aquafeed, pet food, and livestock feed.
