Insect protein has the potential to help address key global challenges such as feeding a growing world population while reducing land use and providing environmental benefits key to net zero targets. 15 UK organisations have come together to accelerate the development of cutting edge technology to upcycle food waste into valuable animal feed, with the aim of producing the UK’s first industrial scale insect protein production facility.

Black Soldier Fly Larvae

The Need

As the world’s population continues to rise and people’s eating habits change, it is estimated that global meat production will double by 2050 (FAO, 2019). In order to sustainably supply animal feed to help meet this rapidly growing demand, alternatives to existing feeds which have a large environmental impact such as soya or fishmeal are required.

Insect protein has strong potential to supply high quality protein for animal feed to address this demand, utilising food waste as part of the production process.