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Difference between revisions of "Insect farming"
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[[File:Rhynchophorus ferrugineus - edible larvae of Red Palm weevil.jpg|alt=Picture showing edible grub on hand and in bowl, palm leaves in the background|thumb|Rhynchophorus ferrugineus – edible larvae of Red Palm Weevil]] | [[File:Rhynchophorus ferrugineus - edible larvae of Red Palm weevil.jpg|alt=Picture showing edible grub on hand and in bowl, palm leaves in the background|thumb|Rhynchophorus ferrugineus – edible larvae of Red Palm Weevil]] | ||
<onlyinclude>'''Insect farming''' involves breeding, rearing and harvesting insects for animal feed, human consumption, biological pest control, crop pollination, products like silk or dyes, pharmceutical, cosmetic and other uses. | <onlyinclude>'''Insect farming''' involves breeding, rearing and harvesting insects for animal feed, human consumption, biological pest control, crop pollination, products like silk or dyes, pharmceutical, cosmetic and other uses. The diversity of insect species includes groups highly specialized in their ability to thrive on different organic substrates as food sources. Some of these substrates resemble [[food waste]]<nowiki/>s form agriculture and food processing industries. This is also referred to as '''insect-based bioconversion''' and represents an economically and environmentally viable method for turning large quantities of food waste into valuable materials.</onlyinclude> | ||
[[File:Skewered locusts.jpg|alt=Picture showing skewered locusts on sticks on the street|thumb|Skewered locusts in Donghuamen, Beijing, China]] | [[File:Skewered locusts.jpg|alt=Picture showing skewered locusts on sticks on the street|thumb|Skewered locusts in Donghuamen, Beijing, China]] | ||
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Insects can be fed a mix of by- and co-products from the agri-food industries and with resources which are currently not being used and not or no longer destined for human consumption, such as the so-called 'former foodstuff'. The by- and co-products may also include those derived from grains, starch, fruit and vegetable supply chains (e.g., bran, distillers grain, unsold fruit and vegetables, including peels) as well as products arising from food manufacturing processes. Highly cellulosic diets are possible.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|title=Crickets Are Not a Free Lunch: Protein Capture from Scalable Organic Side-Streams via High-Density Populations of Acheta domesticus|year=2015-04-15|author=Mark E. Lundy, Michael P. Parrella|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=10|issue=4|page=e0118785|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0118785}}</ref> | Insects can be fed a mix of by- and co-products from the agri-food industries and with resources which are currently not being used and not or no longer destined for human consumption, such as the so-called 'former foodstuff'. The by- and co-products may also include those derived from grains, starch, fruit and vegetable supply chains (e.g., bran, distillers grain, unsold fruit and vegetables, including peels) as well as products arising from food manufacturing processes. Highly cellulosic diets are possible.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|title=Crickets Are Not a Free Lunch: Protein Capture from Scalable Organic Side-Streams via High-Density Populations of Acheta domesticus|year=2015-04-15|author=Mark E. Lundy, Michael P. Parrella|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=10|issue=4|page=e0118785|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0118785}}</ref> | ||
Vassileios Varelas describes the requirements of insect feed as follows: "In general, the major macronutrients required for insect mass production are (a) carbohydrates, which serve as an energy pool but are also required for configuration of chitin (exoskeleton of arthropods), (b) lipids (mainly polyunsaturated fatty acids such as linoleic and linolenic), which are the main structural components of the cell membrane, and also store and supply metabolic energy during periods of sustained demands and help conserve water in the arthropod cuticle, and (c) the amino acids leucine, isoleucine, valine, threonine, lysine, arginine, methionine, histidine, phenylalanine, and tryptophan, which insects cannot synthesize, and tyrosine, proline, serine, cysteine, glycine, aspartic acid, and glutamic acid, which insects can synthesize, but in insufficient quantities at high energy consumption. The essential micronutrients in insect rearing are (a) sterols, which insects cannot synthesize, (b) vitamins, and (c) minerals."<ref name=":1" /> | Vassileios Varelas describes the requirements of insect feed as follows: "In general, the major macronutrients required for insect mass production are (a) carbohydrates, which serve as an energy pool but are also required for configuration of chitin (exoskeleton of arthropods), (b) lipids (mainly polyunsaturated fatty acids such as linoleic and linolenic), which are the main structural components of the cell membrane, and also store and supply metabolic energy during periods of sustained demands and help conserve water in the arthropod cuticle, and (c) the amino acids leucine, isoleucine, valine, threonine, lysine, arginine, methionine, histidine, phenylalanine, and tryptophan, which insects cannot synthesize, and tyrosine, proline, serine, cysteine, glycine, aspartic acid, and glutamic acid, which insects can synthesize, but in insufficient quantities at high energy consumption. The essential micronutrients in insect rearing are (a) sterols, which insects cannot synthesize, (b) vitamins, and (c) minerals."<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|title=Food Wastes as a Potential new Source for Edible Insect Mass Production for Food and Feed: A review|year=2019-09-02|author=Varelas|journal=Fermentation|volume=5|issue=3|page=81|doi=10.3390/fermentation5030081}}</ref> | ||
=== Pre-treatment === | === Pre-treatment === | ||
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== Products == | == Products == | ||
Value may be produced at multiple steps in the bioconversion process. For instance, value can be gained from the elemination of the initial waste itself (disposal fees), sales of insect biomass for food and feed, sales of the living insects for various purposes, sales from fractionated secondary products (i.e., chitin, proteins, and lipids), and sales of the remaining bioconverted waste for soil amendments. | Value may be produced at multiple steps in the bioconversion process. For instance, value can be gained from the elemination of the initial waste itself (disposal fees), sales of insect biomass for food and feed, sales of the living insects for various purposes, sales from fractionated secondary products (i.e., chitin, proteins, and lipids), and sales of the remaining bioconverted waste for soil amendments. Applications are very diverse, for example the use of the ''Tenebrio molitor'' mealworm to biodegrade polystyrene in the environment or the use of ''Lucilia sericata'' (common green bottlefly) as a biological indicator of post-mortem interval (PMI), in human pathology, while the allantoin secreted by ''Lucilia sericata'' larvae is used in the treatment of osteomyelitis.<ref name=":1" /> | ||
=== Post-treatment === | === Post-treatment === | ||
Common post-treatments are the extraction of compounds, such as proteins or lipids and the some treatments that can prolong shelf-life of the product. As post-treatments of edible insects, Vassileios Varelas mentions [[Industrial fermentation|fermentation]], [[sizing]], roasting, [[drying]] and acidification: "Fermentation of the produced edible insect orders to increase the product’s shelf-life and minimize the microbial risks for the consumers associated with edible insect consumption. Successful acidification and effectiveness in product’s safeguarding shelf-life and safety was achieved by the control of Enterobacteria and bacterial spores after lactic fermentation of flour/water mixtures with 10% or 20% powdered roasted mealworm larvae. Techniques such as drying, acidifying, and lactic fermentation can preserve edible insects and insect products without the use of a refrigerator."<ref name=":1" /> | Common post-treatments are the [[extraction]] of compounds, such as proteins or lipids, and the some treatments that can prolong shelf-life of the product. As post-treatments of edible insects, Vassileios Varelas mentions [[Industrial fermentation|fermentation]], [[sizing]], roasting, [[drying]] and acidification: "Fermentation of the produced edible insect orders to increase the product’s shelf-life and minimize the microbial risks for the consumers associated with edible insect consumption. Successful acidification and effectiveness in product’s safeguarding shelf-life and safety was achieved by the control of Enterobacteria and bacterial spores after lactic fermentation of flour/water mixtures with 10% or 20% powdered roasted mealworm larvae. Techniques such as drying, acidifying, and lactic fermentation can preserve edible insects and insect products without the use of a refrigerator."<ref name=":1" /> | ||
== Technology providers == | == Technology providers == | ||