Will The Food Industry Rely On Insects In The Future?
Millions of larvae swarming over pieces of blackened fruit and stinky meat is a sight that will turn most people's appetite off. But it looks like these baby flies will soon enter the food chain and take their place on our tables.
A South African company called AgriProtein started operating a year ago to establish the world's largest fly larvae farm in this area where it conducted trial production. In the USA, France, Canada and the Netherlands, large-scale insect production is being started as food for chickens, pigs and fish.
Hundreds of people attended the Insects to Feed the World conference held in the Netherlands in June last year. Most respondents believe insects will soon replace grains and soybeans in feeding livestock.
Tavukların arada bir börtü böcek yediği oluyorsa da ilk kez geniş çaplı olarak çiftlik hayvanlarına besin olarak böcek yedirilmesi planlanıyor. Peki, insanlar kendi besin ürünlerinin böceklerle beslenmiş olması fikrine hazır mı?
Alternative Animal Feed
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations states that 70 percent more feed will be needed for cattle in 2050 due to population growth and increased demand for meat and fish. This will put an extra burden on arable lands and fish stocks. Today, one third of the fish caught is used as animal feed. Feed for livestock is becoming increasingly costly. For this reason, alternative animal feeds are gaining importance.
AgriProtein aims to produce 20 tons of larvae and 20 tons of fertilizer per day in the commercial larva farm to be opened in Cape Town. Different waste products (such as food scraps, manure, slaughterhouse residues) are used to feed the larvae of three different types of flies. After male and female flies are produced in giant containers, their eggs are removed and mixed with these substances. One kilo of fly eggs turns into 380 kilos of larvae in three days. The dried larvae are ground and turned into nitrogen-rich fertilizer.
This product is registered as chicken and fish feed in South Africa. AgriProtein is also awaiting approval for the use of iron-rich larvae fed with slaughterhouse waste products as pig feed.
Kanadalı Enterra Feed Corporation adlı şirket ise pet hayvan yemi olarak da kullanmak üzere larva üretimini üç katına çıkarmayı planlarken, Amerikalı EnviroFlight da balık yemi olarak larva üretiyor. Ynsect 2016’da Paris yakınlarında geniş çaplı karasinek üretimine geçecek.
Legal Obstacles
However, laws in some countries currently prevent such initiatives. In the European Union, insects are subject to the same rules as traditional livestock farming. In other words, these proteins can be fed to pet animals, but they cannot be fed to animals intended for human consumption. It is also prohibited to feed farm animals with kitchen scraps and manure.
In the USA, each state has its own rules. In some states, such as Ohio, insect protein can be fed as feed to animals raised for human consumption. In Canada, allowing insect larvae to be used in agriculture and as chicken feed is on the agenda.
So how do consumers view eating the flesh of larvae-fed animals? It is estimated that most people will not care about this. Proponents of this trend point out that chickens and fish also eat insects in their natural lives, and emphasize that larval rearing will become a major industry in the next 10-15 years.
