They’re small, creepy...
...and crawly...
...but could insects be key to feeding the world sustainably?
By 2050 there will be 10bn human mouths to feed
Our planet genuinely is on a collision course
So will farming and eating insects...
...help solve one of the 21st century’s biggest challenges?
It’s a solution that actually works in the small village...
...and one day it’s going to reach the store next to you
At one of the world’s most famous museums...
...Dr Erica McAlister curates the insects collection
At any one moment there is 10 quintillion insects all around the world
But she doesn’t believe insects are just for studying
So these are the mealworms, this is a type of beetle
These are the larvae, very thin exoskeleton, which makes them nice and crunchy
Dr McAlister is an “ento-evangelist”...
...on a mission to promote insects as a sustainable food of the future
It’s really weird because we consume crustacea...
...and insects branched off from crustacea
So these are basically just land prawns...
...but with their shells kept on all the time, simple as that
To promote the culinary delights of these creatures...
...the museum even hosts tasting nights
And then you can always pair them with wine...
...because everything tastes better with wine
The world is facing a serious food-supply crisis and eating...
...insects may not be as wild a solution as some may think
It’s an ancient human habit
They found a coprolite, a frozen, fossilised poo containing insects’ remains
So we know it’s been part of human culture for a long, long time
Today, around 2bn people choose to eat insects on a regular basis
More than 1,900 species are eaten across 130 countries...
...and insects are already legally permitted...
...in many foods sold in the West whether you realise it or not
A piece of chocolate, you are allowed bits of insect chitin in the chocolate...
...because they do fall in, they get everywhere
With an estimated 10bn mouths to feed by 2050...
...changes to global consumption habits are essential
And the real value of insects may not be as individual delicacies...
...but as a major source of our most important nutrient, protein
Breakfast in the future is less likely to be bugs on brioche...
...and more likely to be an insect-protein shake
I think within the next 10 to 20 years, we’ll be consuming insects a lot more...
...but not necessarily in the form that we see here...
...but in the form of pasta, such as insect flour and things like that
I think that’s how they’re going to be in our diet
So how much could powders made from insects...
...help feed a growing population and protect the environment?
On the tropical island of Madagascar...
...the scientists behind one pioneering project...
...hope many others will follow their lead
Welcome to Madagascar Biodiversity Center
The centre is home to Valala Farms, which produces protein powder from crickets
So she is preparing the cotton balls and she is going to water it...
...so the crickets will find a place to lay their eggs
The idea came from entomologist Dr Brian Fisher
Every morning I have a bowl of yogurt and to it, I add...
...cricket powder.
This is cricket powder farmed at Valala Farms in Madagascar
The aroma is incredible
It almost has a chocolate smell and I take one spoonful...
...which is like 25 grams...
...which is enough for all your protein and nutrients for the day
You just stir it in and it is a nutrient-packed, healthy way to start the day
Mmm, love it!
Farming insects is a lot easier and more sustainable...
...than rearing other kinds of animals
There are many advantages to eating edible insects
They convert feed to protein much more efficiently than cows or pigs or chickens
They require far less water
They don’t need to waste all that water on keeping their body cool
They use less land
They’re faster to grow, and they’re packed with nutrition
We can take advantage of 300m years of insect evolution
As well as producing cricket powder...
...scientists working here are also on the lookout...
...for other indigenous species of insects
Our team is doing some lab and field research...
...to find different potential edible insects across Madagascar
Dr Fisher created the project in 2006...
...after years studying Madagascar’s declining forests
The scale of the threat from the country’s...
...hungry human population dawned on him
I wanted to explore the forest...
...and find all the undiscovered insects in Madagascar
But along the way, I realised that these people have no choice
If they want to feed their kids, they’re going to have to cut the forest...
...and grow a crop on it for one or two years
Today, only 10-15% of Madagascar’s original forests survive...
...and its endangered species continue to be hunted for food
Global warming is also severely affecting the food supply here
In 2021 Madagascar suffered from what’s being called the world’s...
...first climate-change famine
Thousands of people are in brink of starvation...
...so that’s why we started this project
In response Valala Farms is scaling up production...
...and planning to open a new facility in 2022
It aims to mass produce cricket powder with 54% protein per 100 grams
That’s twice the level of protein found in chicken
The product is already being trialled in places such as this orphanage...
...where the insect powder is added to porridge
And where the benefits of cricket farming are taught in classes
One study in Madagascar found a 50% reduction in bushmeat hunting...
...following the introduction of cricket farming
Our model in Madagascar can expand...
...to feed millions of people in Madagascar...
...but also could expand to feed 5m people in Africa
The same system will work in almost anywhere...
...there’s food insecurity, biodiversity issues and climate change
It’s a solution that actually works in the small village...
...and one day it’s going to reach the store next to you
But there is a fly in the ointment
For insects to hit supermarket shelves in the West and beyond...
...farming will have to be industrialised and scaled up enormously
There will need to be a lot more factories like this one...
...which food company Aspire is building in Canada
And in this building, there will be over 90,000 bins...
...each of which will contain approximately 30,000 crickets
Today, the insect-protein market is worth $1bn
While that figure is predicted to rise to $8bn by 2030...
...it’s still a fraction of beef’s $333bn market value
They were actually supposed to paint my wall on the opposite side...
...or at least put the electric plug on the other side but it doesn’t matter
The CEO of Aspire believes they’ve already discovered ways to scale up quickly...
...and challenge more established parts of the food industry
In the 1950s the average chicken, when it was harvested at 56 days old...
...was just under 2lbs
In 50 years you’ve taken that same animal...
...and you’ve managed to quadruple its size
When we first started in 2015...
...we were producing one-tenth of the number of crickets...
...we now produce from the same unit of production...
...and we’re able to shorten...
...that process of achieving those efficiencies...
...far greater than any other form of livestock animal
Technology will be key to increasing productivity
AI and automation will help produce a tightly controlled environment
When you farm outdoors, you don’t control virtually anything
When you farm indoors, because you’re able to calibrate and control...
...all of the variables that impact the growth of insects...
...temperature, humidity, sound pressure, light intensity...
...and so this allows for a self-optimising production model
And there’s virtually nothing in the world like that today
But to take off, the insect farming industry is going to need friendlier laws
In 2021 the EU permitted humans to consume mealworms...
...and industry advocates hope this will be the first of many decisions...
...to open up the market
In most countries around the world...
...insects are already widely consumed as a food source
What’s new here is that we are formalising and in many ways...
...standardising the production of this protein source
Potential economies of scale offer another way for insect farming to challenge...
...the inefficiencies of traditional...
...and environmentally unsustainable animal agriculture
So, our first harvests are expecting to be mid-next year...
...and then I’m really going to be busy
Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure
Make sure you get all the sleep you need right now
Our facility today that we’re building...
...that’s going to come online next year...
...is situated on 12 acres of property.
Now according to the USDA...
...12 acres is just about enough land to raise...
...approximately three or four cows
Three or four cows means you’re producing maybe, maybe...
...a few thousand kilograms a year of meat...
...from that 12-acre parcel of land
We are going to produce...
...12m kilograms a year of crickets from 12 acres
Farming and eating insects at scale...
...also has the potential to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from food production
Crickets produce around half as much carbon dioxide per kilogram...
...compared with chicken
Fun fact: crickets don’t actually emit methane...
...so their greenhouse-gas emissions, which are already low...
...are even vanishingly smaller as a result of that
But there’s a very long way to go before insects...
...come close to challenging livestock and other food industries
Supply will need to increase dramatically
Part of why adoption hasn’t been more forthcoming is a lack of scalable supply
In order for you to be able to meet the volume...
...requirements of some of the largest food companies in the world...
...they require thousands upon thousands of metric tonnes...
...just to be able to launch in some markets with one product
I mean, the combined output of our entire industry...
...today doesn’t even meet that
Insects could crawl into many more foods, from protein bars to pizzas
Whether insects become a staple of the global diet...
...may depend on many factors, from climate change to psychology
In the 1970s eating raw fish was unthinkable in many countries...
...but today, sushi is found on supermarket shelves across the world
There may yet be a change in the global appetite for insects
Bon appetit
Thanks very much for watching
You can read more about the future of food...
...in my Technology Quarterly by clicking the link...
...and please don’t forget to subscribe