Protecting the environment through insect farming as a means to produce protein for use as livestock, poultry, and aquaculture feed

Abstract

Securing protein for the approximate 10 billion humans expected to inhabit our planet by 2050 is a major priority for the global community. Evidence has accrued over the past 30 years that strongly supports and justifies the sustainable use of insects as a means to produce protein products as feed for pets, livestock, poultry, and aquacultured species. Researchers and entrepreneurs affiliated with universities and industries, respectively, from 18 nations distributed across North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia contributed to the development of this article, which is an indication of the global interest on this topic. A brief overview of insects as feed for the aquaculture industry along with a review of the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae), as a model for such systems is provided.