Could flies feed and clean the planet?
SCIENTISTS have predicted that by 2050 there will be 9.6 billion humans living on Earth. With the rise of the middle class, we are expected to increase our consumption of animal products by up to 70%, using the same limited resources that we have today.
The cost of producing agricultural crops such as corn and soya to feed these animals is also expected to increase and become more challenging with the increasing drought and rising temperatures.
While science is racing to develop more drought-tolerant crop strains through genetic engineering, there may be a simpler alternative: flies.
Although people in some countries have been eating insects for generations, the general population is opposed to introducing the crunchy morsels into their diet. But since we might not be ready to eat insects ourselves, could we instead feed insects to our farmed animals to feed to growing populations?
Introducing the nutritious black soldier fly: this fly, Hermetia illucens, is a cosmopolitan species found on every continent in the world, except Antarctica.
You may have seen this species powering the compost bin in your backyard, as they are efficient decomposers of organic matter. The black soldier fly was first described in 1758 and we are only now discovering its true potential: scientists in Australia, Canada, the US, India and South Africa have begun transforming black soldier fly larvae into a nutritious and sustainable agricultural feed product.
Hermetia illucens was chosen because of its voracious appetite, with one larvae able to quickly process half a gram of organic matter a day.
Waste
In fact, the larvae can eat a wide variety of household waste, including rotting fruit, vegetables, meats and, if in need, manure, and quickly convert it to a rich source of fats, oils, amino acids, calcium and protein.
Black soldier fly larvae are 45% crude protein, which in addition to its high nutrition profile, has gained the attention of the agriculture community.
Researchers have demonstrated that black soldier fly feed could partly or completely replace conventional agricultural feed. Moreover, studies have shown that this feed is suitable for the diet of chickens, pigs, alligators and farmed seafood such as blue tilapia, Atlantic salmon and prawns.
Preliminary trials have also indicated that there are no adverse effects on the health of these animals. Black soldier flies can also reduce the amount of E coli in dairy manure.
There are a myriad environmental benefits to adopting black soldier fly feed. For example, Costa Rica has been successful in reducing household waste by up to 75% by feeding it to black soldier fly larvae.
This has great potential to be adopted in other countries, and could divert thousands of tons of household and commercial food waste from entering landfill.
One female black soldier fly can have up to 600 larvae, with each of these quickly consuming half a gram of organic matter a day. This small family of 600 individuals can eat an entire household green waste bin each year.
Entire farms of black soldier flies could reduce landfill, while converting the organic matter into a feasible commercial product.
Black soldier fly farms require a smaller footprint than conventional agricultural crops to feed farm animals as they can be grown in warehouses or small farms.
We now use more than half the world’s usable surface to grow crops to feed farm animals. If more fly farms were established, less land would be required to feed farm animals, which in turn could be used to grow more food for humans, or rehabilitate it and return it to nature.
There is even potential for production of biodiesel. – The Conversation