It is very exciting for me to be writing this blog post because I can finally apply the knowledge I have gained about insects to my interest in small scale food production and food security. Specifically, this post describes the similarities and differences of rearing insects for entomophagy crops (intended to be consumed by people) and as biological controls. It has been three and a half months since I began working in Agassiz and Meg and our Entomologist Peggy have taught me so much about rearing insects as biological controls for greenhouses. Now, with a bit more research, I am exploring the world of rearing insects as food resources.
Why Insects?
In developing countries such as China and India, the demand for beef, pork and chicken is growing at an unsustainable rate. Unfortunately, because animal food production is so energy intensive and emits negative wastes such as Greenhouse Gases and manure, humans are exploring other protein-rich crops which are more sustainable. Plant-based protein sources such as beans, lentils, broccoli and peas are especially popular to consumers. However, recently, researchers are exploring a crop which is less conventional in developed countries- insect crops. Rearing insects is economical, it requires fewer energy inputs and is environmentally sustainable as they require less space and can convert waste to a product which farmers can use. Furthermore, they are highly nutritious and efficient in converting food into body bass and nutrients. However, and obvious setback is the prevalent view of disgust, fear and distaste by citizens in developed countries towards insects- this is known as the “ew” factor.
Surprisingly, insects are already being eaten in 80% of the world’s countries such as China, Australia and much of Latin America (Entomophagy, n.d.). Furthermore, these countries are not afraid to serve many different insects such as moths, butterflies, ants, beetles, grasshoppers, crickets and worms. In many developed countries however, insect foods are a taboo which is only done as a dare or on a show like Fear Factor. In an attempt to introduce these small invertebrates into the food system of developed countries, two “tame” species are being reared and served- mealworms and crickets.
Key Differences
- Insect species
Since all agricultural crops have insect pests, there are many different biological control crops which are reared to meet the needs of those different crops. Therefore, we can safely say that there are many types of insects, arachnids, butterflies and moths which are used to control various crop pests. However, when it comes to food consumption, the type of insects are much more specific and they vary more between countries. In most of Latin America, Oceania, Asia and Africa, varieties of moths, butterflies, beetles, worms, crickets, cicadas and arachnids will be eaten. However, eating insects is not a part of the culture in many developed countries so it needs to be gradually introduced over time. So far, meal worms and crickets are the most popular where companies like Tiny Farms and Entomo farms are selling whole roasted insects, insect flour and powder (Entomo Farms, n.d.). Comparatively, many insects used as biological controls would never be served as food either because they are dangerous (parasitoides or poisonous spiders) or they are too small (predatory mites and pathogens).
- Scale of production and demand
Since biological controls are hugely important in many agricultural crops, large scale insect farming operations exist, especially throughout Europe and the U.S. For example, two companies, Koppert (Canada) and Biobest (Belgium) rear desired insects in large climate regulated barns, then sell them as packaged biological controls to scientists and farmers across the globe. Comparatively, the market for insect food sources is still relatively new and unpopular so the farming remains relatively small scale. Even in countries where entomophagy is more popular, insect farms are predominantly small and they sell to a regional or possibly national crowd.
- Type of feed
For biological controls, the main agents are predators, pathogens and parasitoides, each of which is fed what it naturally feeds on (such as our Green Lacewings and their Aphid prey). This is done both to train the insects to hunt and because biological controls are predators or parasitoides and they rely on a prey species for survival. However, entomophagy crops are commonly fed materials that is fed to humans (such as meal worms with wheat bran or fruit).
Overall, most of the differences between rearing biological control crops versus entomophagy crops is based on their demand by consumers and their primal needs. Since commercial entomophagy crops are so far limited to a few species, crickets and mealworms especially, they have rather particular needs. Crickets and mealworms have diets similar to a human diet so they are especially fond of fruits and vegetables. Moreover, entomophagy operations are relatively monocultural so they are less complicated to operate, smaller scale and there is a smaller profit to be made. However, because there are so many biological control species, catering to all of their different climate and feeding needs is more complicated. For many biological controls, you are not only rearing them, but also their prey (for predatory insects) or their host (for parasitoides or pathogens) which makes the energy inputs higher than that of the entomophagy crops. Furthermore, since there is a high demand for biological controls, farming operations are often large and farming a diverse crop of insects which makes them more complicated and expensive to operate. However, the financial rewards are also higher. Similarities between the two operations do also exist. Specifically, both require similar infrastructure such as climate regulation (air humidity, temperature and light), barns and staff.
Upon researching this topic, it was made clear to me how little information there is regarding insect farming and the production of biological controls. As these become more popular and well documented, I look forward to learning more about them!
References
Entomo Farms. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://entomofarms.com/
Entomophagy. (n.d.). Retrieved August 10th, 2016 from the Entomophagy wiki https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/10/