Feed fly

Livestock will be fed with insects

Vladimir Fradkin, Deutsche WelleFor Europeans, eating insects will be exotic for a long time.

But the breeding of fly larvae as a source of feed protein for livestock seems to have good prospects.

According to experts' forecasts, by 2050 the world's population will reach 9 billion people, which will lead to an increase in meat and fish consumption by 70 percent compared to the current level. It is clear that it will not be easy to provide the world's population with these products. The main difficulty is related to the shortage of feed used in animal husbandry, poultry and fish farming – primarily protein-rich. Such feeds are produced mainly from leguminous crops and fishmeal, but they are barely enough today. It is quite obvious that the feed industry cannot do without new sources of protein.

The most promising sources of this kind, according to many experts, include insects. Dutch entomologist Arnold van Huis, professor at Wageningen University and consultant to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, says: "The food industry faces the threat of a shortage of fish meal due to overfishing, leading to depletion of the resources of the oceans. Meanwhile, fish meal is an essential component of feed for chickens, pigs, and fish. But it is steadily getting more expensive, so feed producers are looking for an alternative. So, insects are an excellent source of proteins."

Locust, cricket, mealworm and other delicaciesOf course, in many regions of the world, insects, so to speak, in their pure form, are traditionally included in the diet of the local population.

A variety of dishes from grasshoppers, crickets or mealworms will be offered to you in Southeast Asia, Africa, Central and Latin America, and Australia. Even in the countries of Western culture, where entomophagy – as the eating of insects is scientifically called – has not spread, every person in his life, according to Wikipedia, accidentally swallows more than 300 grams of insects with plant food on average – and feels great, that is, it has no negative consequences for him.

Professor van Heys has long pointed out the huge advantage of locusts as a food product over cattle: two kilograms of plant food are enough for locusts to produce one kilogram of protein, and a cow needs ten kilograms. At the same time, locusts, unlike cows, do not produce greenhouse gases, and their breeding does not require antibiotics. And in fried form it is very tasty, experts assure…

Housefly and black lion – for livestock feedBut at the conference "Insects to Feed the World" held in Wageningen in the Netherlands in mid–May, the main topic was still not the introduction of locusts into the daily diet of Europeans, but a completely different - and, apparently, today more promising – concept.

It was about the fact that dried and ground fly larvae could successfully replace fishmeal.

Two species are considered the most promising in this regard – the common housefly (Musca domestica) and the black lion (Hermetia illucens).

Professor van Heys, one of the initiators and organizers of the conference, explains: "The Black Lion is preferred by several groups of researchers, since its larvae develop perfectly on almost any organic waste. This is a very important and valuable property. After all, in the world, about a third of all agricultural products produced by mankind are thrown away, go to waste. If insects are bred on these wastes, it will give a valuable, protein-rich product."

Bermuda and Mauritius are self-sufficientOnce such an economic cycle of valuable nutrients was the norm – for example, pigs were fattened with kitchen waste.

This gave a double benefit: there was no need to take care of either the supply of feed or the disposal of waste.

The breeding of fly larvae as a source of feed proteins can to a certain extent revive this cycle, according to one of the conference participants David Drew, head of AgriProtein in Cape Town, South Africa, and founder of the BioCycle initiative. "Take, for example, Bermuda or the island of Mauritius, with which we are currently negotiating. They made a bet on wealthy tourists, so there is always a huge amount of food waste, and at the same time they are forced to import feed for a lot of money," the scientist gives an example. – Breeding black lion larvae on kitchen garbage and leftovers of dishes from all these wonderful restaurants would allow us to get enough high-calorie feed for local livestock. Which, in turn, would go to steaks and chops for tomorrow's tourists."

The main difficulty is the European legislationSuch factories for breeding black lion larvae occupy a small area and are characterized by high productivity.

The lifespan of one generation of larvae is about three weeks, during which time the larva gains more than 1000 times in weight. In dried form, it consists of 60 percent protein and 10 percent fat. In a year on one hectare, insects will give 150 times more protein than, say, soybeans. "We call ourselves the largest farm in the world," says David Drew. – Of course, this does not mean the area, because our factory occupies only 8,500 square meters. But we have 1.5 billion larvae there. And at the new factory, which we will launch next year, there will already be 8.5 billion of them."

By 2020, the entrepreneur intends to build 10 more such factories in different countries, including European ones. But there are difficulties of a formal nature, Professor van Heys emphasizes: "The main problem now is legislation. So, in the European Union, after the epidemic of mad cow disease, the use of animal feed was sharply restricted. The only exception is fishmeal. Nobody thought about insects as a source of feed protein."

Now the European Commission is planning to revise the relevant regulatory documents. It is already allowed to use insects in fish farming.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru11.06.2014