Mealworms on the premises of Alpha Protein. Based in Germany's Bruchsal, the start-up is trying to breed mealworms as animal feed by repurposing food waste. — Photos: dpa
STARTUPS and research institutes have long seen insects as a more sustainable possibility for animal feed. Farmers too are increasingly open to switching to new kinds of feed as they seek to make their sector more sustainable.
"Beneficial insects are fundamentally capable of converting unusable biomass or food by-products into high-quality fats, proteins and fertilisers," says Bernhard Krüsken, secretary general of the German Farmers' Association.
At present, however, they only play a negligible role in terms of feed. But Krüsken sees the need to build on their potential, to make this aspect of agriculture more sustainable.
When it comes to protein sources for farm animals, most are currently fed soybean meal and fishmeal, both of which are not especially sustainable, considering that fish stocks are dwindling and a lot of land is needed for to produce soy.
The idea of using insects as feed has already spurred interest in the European Union. "In the EU, eight insect species are now authorised as farm animals that can be used as processed animal protein for livestock feed," says the Research Institute for Farm Animal Biology (FBN) in Germany.
Their protein content is comparable to that of soybean meal – 40% to 47% in dry matter – but lower than that of fish meal.
Not all insects are equal
However, not all insects are equal according to researchers. The FBN uses the differences between the larvae of the black soldier fly and the mealworm as an example. The mealworm – which is not a worm, but a beetle called Tenebrio Molitor – has a higher proportion of important omega-3 fatty acids, but mainly needs cereal and grain products as food.
So for biologists, they are in competition with human nutrition. The feed for the insects could also be used directly for livestock farming under certain circumstances. So industry specialists see the mealworm as less sustainable.
The black soldier fly, on the other hand, is far less demanding and can even grow with faeces or manure, though this is prohibited due to health protection regulations.
In Bruchsal, Baden-Württemberg, start-up Alpha Protein is trying to improve the mealworm's carbon footprint by reusing food waste. "We are developing industrial systems for rearing insects as food and feed," says managing director Gia Tien Ngo.
They are also breeders themselves. Large-scale industrial production is currently being planned on two hectares in Ludwigshafen. The plan is to produce 997 tonnes of dried insects and more than 4,535 tonnes of fertiliser from excrement per year.
Alongside wheat semolina and wheat bran, there are also plans to use a lot of old bread from local bakeries. The regional recycling concept is essential, says the managing director.
The main advantage over the feed previously used in livestock farming is the lower land and water consumption when breeding insects, say Ngo and the FBN scientists.
Gia stands in the business premises in a breeding facility for mealworms with a device for feeding the animals.
Another option
Although in theory these would also be available as a normal foodstuff, both see a problem of acceptance among the population.
Price is also an issue, says the start-up's managing director, but costs are expected to fall as insect farming technology is further developed.
The circular economy is also a focus of other projects. The Bioeconomy Innovation Space at Marine Sites project, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), is researching the use of regional by-products and co-products in a closed-loop system, according to the FBN.
This includes fish farming, algae production and the use of black soldier fly larvae as fish feed, with a model site planned in Bergen on the island of Rügen.
Could insects completely replace other types of feed in the future?
Not so fast.
The German Animal Feed Association (DVT) says they are "merely another option for supplementing the range of raw materials for the production of compound feed or for direct use as straight feed."
When it comes to cattle feed, using animal protein from beneficial insects still has to be authorised. Meanwhile the DVT was not willing to make a long-term statement on the market significance of bug-based feed, saying this is not yet feasible. – dpa
