World’s Largest Insect Farm for Animal Feed to be Built in Illinois – Sustainable Production of Protein

The American company Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) and the French company InnovaFeed both plan to build the world’s largest farm for the production of insect-based protein meant for animal feed in 2021 in Illinois, Entrepreneur reports.

The partnership between ADM , a giant, and the startup InnovaFeed equates to a vote of confidence in a nascent industry that could one day play a representative role in the agricultural sector around the world.

The two companies want to produce billions of insects called ' black soldier fly' (hermetia illucens). Their larvae have the capacity to consume gigantic amounts of organic material such as manure and food waste, later transform them into proteins with many nutrients and therefore, they have the option of being sold as animal feed.

The main advantage of this type of large-scale cultivation of this insect is that the larvae have the possibility of devouring everything, including non-compostable waste, which represents a significant decrease in the carbon footprint created by the rearing of agricultural species, such as cows, sheep, chickens and pigs, which require large amounts of corn and soybeans to feed.

Notably, great potential is seen as the demand for sustainably sourced food continues to grow.

More than half of American consumers say they want sustainable food, according to a 2019 survey by the International Council for Food Information, a nonprofit organization. Three in five people in the UK are willing to pay more for eco-friendly food options, according to a survey of 1,000 people by professional services company Gutteridge Haskins & Davey (GHD), Entrepreneur writes.

ADM

InnovaFeed

insect farm

animal feed

hermetia illucens