A single acre of black soldier fly larvae can produce more protein than 3,000 acres of cattle or 130 acres of soybeans
Washington Post Christopher Ingraham
July 3, 2019
11:59 AM EDT
Last Updated
July 3, 2019
12:46 PM EDT
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — It may be hard to understand the appeal of plunging your hand into a pile of writhing maggots. But the sensation is uniquely tactile, not at all unpleasant, as thousands of soft, plump grubs, each the size of a grain of rice, wriggle against your skin, tiny mouthparts gently poking your flesh.
For Lauren Taranow and her employees, it’s just another day at work.
Taranow is the president of Symton BSF, where the larvae of black soldier flies are harvested and sold as food for exotic pets such as lizards, birds, even hedgehogs. Her “maggot farm,” as she styles it, is part of a burgeoning industry, one with the potential to revolutionize the way we feed the world. That’s because of the black soldier fly larva’s remarkable ability to transform nearly any kind of organic waste — cafeteria refuse, manure, even toxic algae — into high-quality protein, all while leaving a smaller carbon footprint than it found.
In one year, a single acre of black soldier fly larvae can produce more protein than 3,000 acres of cattle or 130 acres of soybeans. Such yields, combined with the need to find cheap, reliable protein for a global population projected to jump 30 per cent, to 9.8 billion by 2050, present big opportunity for the black soldier fly. The United Nations, which already warns that animal-rich diets cannot stretch that far long term, is encouraging governments and businesses to turn to insects to fulfill the planet’s protein needs.
People who’ve seen what black soldier fly larvae can do often speak of them in evangelical tones. Jeff Tomberlin, a professor of entomology at Texas A&M University, said the bug industry could “save lives, stabilize economies, create jobs and protect the environment.”
“There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be doing this at some scale throughout the world,” he said.
So why aren’t we?
When the LED lights are flipped on in the fly-breeding room at Evo Conversion Systems, the whir of thousands of tiny wings fills the air as flies careen about their screened-in enclosures in search of a mate. Evo, which was founded by Tomberlin, shares a wall with Symton. The companies are separate but symbiotic: Evo hatches fly larvae and sells them to Symton, which fattens them up on a proprietary grain blend that ensures optimal nutrition for the animals that eventually will consume them.
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There are some people trying to unravel the human genome to cure diseases.
There are some people trying to expand our horizons to other worlds, to seek resources in the outer solar system.
And there are some people trying to get other people to eat bugs.
One of these goals I do not take seriously.
If the productivity levels for convertong “garbage or organic waste into maggot protein” that are reported here are correct, there will be little demand for corn and soy as feedstock for cattle and poultry. Drying maggots and feeding them to unsuspecting and uncaring beef, pork, chicken, and fish will unleash enormous amounts of land resources for other purposes. Like cultivating trees by the trillions to build billions of houses.
Just 2 billion acres of badlands converted to maggot cultivation pits should be able to support a global population of 50 Billion (steak and poultry eating) people easily.
We’d still need a source of organic nitrogen at the chemical base of even this food chain. Putting a few thousand MSR nuclear plants into use around the badlands should be able to produce the high temperature and pressure Haber process for ammonia production.
The things 50 billion people need to get by with are getting cheaper all the time.
We will never run out of resources if people are allowed to remain free.
“Drying maggots and feeding them to unsuspecting and uncaring beef, pork, chicken, and fish will unleash enormous amounts of land resources for other purposes. Like cultivating trees by the trillions to build billions of houses”
doesn’t work with the above comment about
The law of conservation of mass or principle of mass conservation.
My wife came back from Africa a few months ago with a local delicacy (How she got through border control here in Australia I do not know) called the Mopane worm caterpillar and that is exactly what it looks like too. About inch and a half long, big black head and body. Initially, I refused to eat it but caved in to pressure from the the wife who said it was really nice. It tasted like a bit of dry wood. When I asked my wife to try some kangaroo, she refused saying it was disgusting (Without having ever tried it). Have no idea what it’s nutritional value is, but I prefer beef, lamb, goat, pork, fish, roo etc etc…
Oh dear, Patrick … she’s probably still laughing about that one mate.
Add crocodiles. There’s a lot to be said for a revenge-BBQ.
I tried Roo burgers in secret on the kids (Hers. I like it for cholesterol reason, taste is well…blah), and they liked it. Just prefer beef. Too many MacChunders Big (Now slightly smaller, same price tho) Macs.
Never heard – crocodiles taste like chicken.
https://www.google.com/search?q=crocodiles+taste+like+chicken&oq=crocodiles+taste+&aqs=chrome.
The answer to this non-question of food supply is more efficient use of the food already produced: we waste half the food now produced, ie- we produce enough to feed 14 B already. Food supply is not the shortest stave in the carrying capacity barrel.
“There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be doing this at some scale throughout the world”
I don’t think this is the way to sell socialism. So keep it up.
How are these grubs producing more protein than they are being fed? Are they nitrogen fixing grubs? If they were just efficient at converting plant protein to “animal protein”, how is the comparison to soybeans relevant? The acreage yield of the grubs should include the acreage of the feed being fed to them.
From top of the food pyramid back to insectivores.
After all – that’s the 21st century.
French Airlines losing value after Macron announced a CO2 tax:
https://www.google.com/search?q=French+Airlines+losing+value+after+macron+announced+CO2+tax&oq=French+Airlines+losing+value+after+macron+announced+CO2+tax&aqs=chrome.
Maybe there’s a market in France for cheap insect meals.