Farm animals ‘less flighty’ on insect diet

IN A scene reminiscent of the opening few minutes of a horror film, beneath some railway arches 500 yards from The Shard in central London, scientists are breeding 11 million insects.

While most people would view a sea of writhing maggots or swarms of flies in the heart of a city as a matter for pest control, entomologists believe they could be the future of farm food.

Breeding insects to feed to pigs and chickens could slash the need to import soy, the growing of which causes deforestation of rainforests, and use up huge amounts of food waste produced by supermarkets, breweries and farms.

Insects are eaten by animals in the wild and there is evidence that shunning soy to move to a more natural diet improves behaviour. Experiments on monkeys have shown that soy diets increase aggression by up to 200 per cent.

At Entocycle in London Bridge, scientists researching the perfect conditions in which to breed soldier flies, hope to be able to offer automated insect farms to farmers across Britain.

“We’ve tested brewery waste, bakery waste, fruit and vegetable waste, household waste, supermarket waste, and we find they like a blend,” said Keiran Olivares Whitaker, the company’s founder and chief executive.

“Pepperoni pizzas are absolutely fantastic, as [are] brewers grains and pig manure. It makes sense to feed insects to insectivores. The reason we use flies to catch fish ... is because that is what a lot of animals eat in the wild.”

Britain imports 80 to 90 per cent of its animal protein feeds, leaving farmers at the mercy of world events. When the Ever Given container ship became stuck in the Suez Canal in 2021, prices rocketed – and flooding in Brazil caused soy crops to fail, pushing up prices for farmers and consumers.

Under Mr Whitaker’s plans, farmers could set up insect breeding facilities on site and feed their agricultural waste to the flies whose larvae produce large amounts of heat when they are growing that could also be used to keep the flies warm and reduce energy costs.

A report by Frontier Economics, commissioned by the Circular Food Systems think-tank, suggests that the insect-farming industry could be worth up to £170million and convert more than 3.1 million tons of waste into productive material.

Aruna Bahia, of Circular Food Systems, said: “There are many benefits of insect-based feed. It promotes better animal welfare, better gut health and [means] lower vet fees … because it’s a natural product.”

‘Experiments on monkeys have shown that soy diets increase aggression by up to 200 per cent’