The Future of Insect-Based Protein
While insect-based protein bars may have reached a small corner of the shelves at your neighborhood health food store, we are in the early days of food innovation using insects.
As Steven Klein points out in his terrific article Forget Pork Bellies — Bugs are the Next Hot Agricultural Commodity, the big opportunity with insect-based protein is in creating feed alternatives for the industrial livestock industries.
We need alternatives to our current feed options (fishmeal and soybeans) to overcome the challenges ahead:
- Increasing demand for food
- Decreasing farmable land
- Climate change
- Concerns about heavy metals and pollutants in our oceans
Yes, it’s all quite daunting. But there are startups trying to make headway in this space.
On the road between now and a future where insect protein is standard, we’re going to see more consumer products that are made with insect protein hit our shelves.
One such product (currently only distributed in South Africa) that is likely to hit the US and Europe in the next 1–2 years is a dairy alternative called EntoMilk.
Thomas from Gourmet Grubb (maker of EntoMilk) reached out to share the article above (which we learned a ton reading), and has been kind enough to answer a few questions for us to learn more about where things are heading.
5 Questions with Thomas from Gourmet Grubb
Thomas is a Stanford graduate and avid explorer of the Water-Energy-Food Nexus. We’ve taken this opportunity to pick his brain as someone with boots on the ground in the food revolution. Enjoy!
What role do you think consumer products like Entomilk will play in overcoming the challenge of producing industrial-scale insect protein?
Products such as EntoMilk™, especially in such a young and growing industry, play a big role in driving demand. We launched our Insect Ice Cream with the intent to showcase to even the most conservative Western consumer that insects, when processed correctly and presented in the form of a product that they know and love, can be just as delicious as the product they are familiar with.
We have received an overwhelming amount of positive feedback, but the majority of Western consumers are still hesitant to adopt insects as a part of their daily diet. And that is where we are focusing our attention, especially in perfecting EntoMilk as a product. Once the consumer can overcome the mental hurdle and adopt insects as a part of their day-to-day diet (in our case as a dairy substitute), the demand will increase significantly and that will help drive the costs of industrial-scale production down.
When one considers this question over a longer time-frame, industrial-scale production of insect protein will inevitably become a mainstream, industrial-scale industry. The UN predicts that an additional 2 billion people will walk this planet by 2050 and, since we are already consuming more natural resources than the planet can produce in a year, it is only a matter of time before the more efficient and effective forms of protein production, such as insect-based, step up to the plate.
What are some lesser known or under-discussed challenges with achieving industrial-scale production?
The first that comes to mind is the equipment cost and availability. The process of producing industrial-scale quantities is still very new and with that comes higher capital expenses. In some cases the required equipment does not even exist yet and the cost of engineering new equipment that can adapt to ever-evolving parameters of processing is quite high.
Another aspect to consider is the current cost of farming of insects. Since insects are very finicky about their environment, a lot of research and experimentation has been done to optimize farming and work towards automation. Insects cannot be domesticated, which means that if you don’t farm them in an ideal environment they either do not reproduce or they die.
A challenge that we have been paying specific attention to is the risks associated with monocultures in the insect-based industry, specifically in terms of farming. While this is a topic that has not been discussed or researched in depth yet, it is one that will definitely become a central topic as farms, companies and the industry grows.
The final, and possibly the most important challenge, is the health aspect. As with any product that is high in protein, there is the potential for allergies and there is still a lot of research that needs to be done to understand the allergens and intolerances associated with insects as a human food source. Gourmet Grubb’s co-founder, Leah Bessa, is currently doing her PhD on this aspect and we will continue, as a company, to stay at the forefront of research in this area.
What about lesser known opportunities that you think deserve more attention?
We believe that there is still a lot of opportunity in expanding the number of products that can be created from insects. Companies such as Chapul, Chirps and Exo have led the way, but now there are new companies emerging offering a variety of new products.
For example, Bugsolutely, a company based in Thailand, produces Cricket Pasta. That is a type of everyday food that has not seen this level of disruption in centuries. And we believe there is a lot more to come. There is also the aspect of the different types of insects that can be consumed. Over 2000 insect species are consumed by humans worldwide. Thus far most of the focus of scaling and adoption has been on crickets, mealworms, locusts and buffalo worms. We believe this is the tip of the iceberg and the space for innovation in the insect-food industry is almost endless.
The final opportunity that hasn’t really been tapped into is the use cases for by-products that come from insect-based farms and production facilities. Many of the larger names in the livestock-feed and pet food industries have tapped into the human food ‘waste streams’ (e.g. expired fruit, vegetables, etc.), but they are still figuring out what to do with their own by-products. And, as we have heard from several advisors and potential investors, a company’s by-products can sometimes become their biggest source of revenue.
What countries, companies, organizations, or individuals are leading the food revolution right now? And who is close behind?
From a regulatory perspective, there are a few European companies that are leading the way in terms of insects as a human food source. Countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Britain, Denmark and Finland have gone above and beyond European regulations, which defines insects as a novel food, and are now allowing and even regulating the insect-food market. But many Western countries and Eastern countries are close behind. The US, Canada, Australia and a few others have also adopted the novel food approach while most Eastern cultures are looking towards formalizing their centuries-old informal industries.
From a company perspective, there are several names that come to mind: Chapul, Entomo Farms, Cricket Flours and many more. Thus far, there is no clear leader and there is still plenty of room for growth. When it comes to farming for livestock or pet feed, there are a few that have emerged as leaders in the industry. Protix in Europe has grown to be a big name and so has AgriProtein, followed by a few others. But even they still have a long way to go before they become a household (or farm-hold) name.
On an individual level, there are obviously the founders of the companies mentioned above, along with founders of companies such as Tiny Farms and others. And then there are those operating in different spaces and with different motives. Josh Galt, for instance, has been traveling throughout Asia and promoting a new lifestyle: EntoVegan. There are more people out there spreading the word and making massive strides forward, but these are just the first ones that come to mind.
How does producing insect protein fit in with vertical farming in the future of food?
Vertical farming and insect farming are already integrated. Insects require very little land to farm and can often be farmed in urban environments. Most farms have already adopted stacked farming practices by growing the insects in bins or containers that are placed on top of each other, sometimes up to three stories high.
If the current rate of urbanization continues, as per the UN predictions, there will be 2.3 billion more people in cities by 2050. And what better place to farm their protein source(s) than in the cities they occupy?
Huge thanks to Thomas for his insights on the role of insect protein in the future of food. We are grateful for your time!
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