{"id":453224,"date":"2023-07-25T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-25T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovationorigins.com\/?p=453224"},"modified":"2023-07-25T16:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-07-25T14:00:00","slug":"france-and-the-netherlands-pioneering-in-sustainable-insect-breeding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/france-and-the-netherlands-pioneering-in-sustainable-insect-breeding\/","title":{"rendered":"France and the Netherlands pioneering in sustainable insect breeding"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Insect farming is gaining ground as a sustainable alternative to traditional food production in Europe, with France and the Netherlands leading the way. The French company <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ynsect.com\/\">\u0178nsect<\/a>, the world&#8217;s largest vertical insect farm, grows more than three trillion mealworms that serve as protein-rich food for animals, reducing pressure on agricultural land and lowering emissions. Despite cultural and industrial challenges, insect farming is seen as an efficient solution to the climate and biodiversity crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"io-block io-block__summary\"><ul><li>\u0178nsect and Protix are leading companies in Europe&#8217;s sustainable insect breeding industry.<\/li><li>These companies use waste streams from the food industry to feed insects, reducing pressure on agricultural land and lowering emissions.<\/li><li>According to estimates, the industry could reach a value of nearly eight billion dollars by 2030.<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>In the Netherlands,\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/protix.eu\/\" target=\"_blank\">Protix<\/a>\u00a0produces millions of insects for fish and livestock feed, fed with waste streams from the food industry. The company strives for nitrogen reduction and emphasizes that intensive farming is more appropriate for insects. Although criticized from an animal rights perspective and energy is required for agriculture, the ecological footprint of larvae as a protein source is considered lower than chicken meat and soybean meal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Role of Insect Culture in Sustainable Food Production<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Insect farming is playing an increasing role in sustainable food production in Europe. The French company \u0178nsect and the Dutch company Protix are leaders in this field. Both companies consider insect farming an efficient solution to the climate and biodiversity crisis. They use waste streams from the food industry to feed the insects, reducing the pressure on agricultural land. This not only&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-023-00290-z\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reduces emissions<\/a>&nbsp;but also nitrogen emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The insects are used as an alternative to conventional animal protein in animal feed. For example, this has a lower carbon footprint than chicken and soybean meal. Although there is criticism from an animal rights perspective and energy is needed for farming, both companies emphasize that intensive farming suits insects better than&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nrc.nl\/nieuws\/2023\/05\/29\/miljoenen-larven-kweken-als-alternatief-vis-en-veevoer-a4165823\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">other animals<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"vlp-link-container vlp-layout-basic wp-block-visual-link-preview-link advgb-dyn-71c79eb1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/innovationorigins.com\/en\/we-cant-download-a-safe-green-future-from-the-app-store\/\" class=\"vlp-link\" title=\"We can\u2019t download a safe, green future from the app store\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><div class=\"vlp-layout-zone-side\"><div class=\"vlp-block-2 vlp-link-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/innovationorigins.com\/app\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Kees-met-Protix-trui-in-fabriek_3_liggend-2048x1365.jpg\" style=\"max-width: 150px; max-height: 150px\" \/><\/div><\/div><div class=\"vlp-layout-zone-main\"><div class=\"vlp-block-0 vlp-link-title\">We can\u2019t download a safe, green future from the app store<\/div><div class=\"vlp-block-1 vlp-link-summary\">\u201cYoung entrepreneurs should be well aware that it\u2019s not always fun. If you expect that, you\u2019re better off on a desert island. If you do go into business; Eat shit and keep going.\u201d<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Potential of Insect Farming<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>According to a&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ecotoday.nl\/insectenkweek-een-industrie-die-tegen-2030-8-miljard-dollar-waard-kan-zijn\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report by Meticulous Research<\/a>, the insect farming industry could be worth as much as $7.96 billion by 2030. Insect farms are seen as a promising and valuable source of sustainable proteins for animal feed. They also create helpful byproducts that can be used as fertilizer and material for medical purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The insects most commonly farmed are crickets, mealworms, and the black soldier fly. These are protein-rich alternatives that require little land and water for their production. Insects are fed on reprocessed waste products, so production costs are minimal. In addition, they grow up to 100 times faster than conventional animal food sources and are rich in high-quality protein.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Insect Cultivation in the Future<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Accepting insects as a human food source is still a challenge, especially in Europe and the U.S.. Nevertheless, several start-ups are already active in this sector, such as Ynsect and FlyFeed. They currently breed insects for animal feed but have plans to produce products for human consumption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The European project SUSINCHAIN, in which researcher Teun Veldkamp of Wageningen University &amp; Research (WUR) is participating, is investigating the potential of insects as a source of protein in animal feed and food products for humans. The project aims to replace&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/magazines.wur.nl\/ko-magazine-2022\/insectenkweek\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">20 percent<\/a>&nbsp;of European consumption of animal protein with insect protein by 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"vlp-link-container vlp-layout-basic wp-block-visual-link-preview-link advgb-dyn-f310d67e\"><a href=\"https:\/\/innovationorigins.com\/en\/insectsense-uses-insect-inspired-innovations-to-detect-disease\/\" class=\"vlp-link\" title=\"InsectSense uses insect-inspired innovations to detect disease\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><div class=\"vlp-layout-zone-side\"><div class=\"vlp-block-2 vlp-link-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/innovationorigins.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/05\/IMG_20210701_152038-scaled.jpg\" style=\"max-width: 150px; max-height: 150px\" \/><\/div><\/div><div class=\"vlp-layout-zone-main\"><div class=\"vlp-block-0 vlp-link-title\">InsectSense uses insect-inspired innovations to detect disease<\/div><div class=\"vlp-block-1 vlp-link-summary\">Every day Innovation Origins puts a start-up in the spotlight. Today: InsectSense from the Dutch city of Wageningen.<\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Insect farming is gaining ground as a sustainable alternative to traditional food production in Europe, with France and the Netherlands leading the way. The French company \u0178nsect, the world&#8217;s largest vertical insect farm, grows more than three trillion mealworms that serve as protein-rich food for animals, reducing pressure on agricultural land and lowering emissions. Despite [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2580,"featured_media":495458,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[69111],"tags":[25220,31385,79799,26250],"location":[66582],"article_type":[60595],"serie":[],"archives":[],"internal_archives":[],"reboot-archive":[],"class_list":["post-453224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-agrifood","tag-agrifood-en","tag-insects","tag-insectweek","tag-protix-en","location-europe","article_type-analysis"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":{"subtitle":"Insect farming is gaining prominence as a sustainable alternative to traditional food production in Europe, with France and the Netherlands leading the way.","text_display_homepage":false},"author_meta":{"display_name":"Laio","author_link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/author\/laio\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/elders-g734dc6b4b_1280.jpg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["<a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/category\/agrifood\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Agrifood<\/a>"],"unlinked":["<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Agrifood<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["<a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/category\/agrifood\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Agrifood<\/a>","<a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/category\/agrifood\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">insects<\/a>","<a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/category\/agrifood\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">insectweek<\/a>","<a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/category\/agrifood\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Protix<\/a>"],"unlinked":["<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Agrifood<\/span>","<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">insects<\/span>","<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">insectweek<\/span>","<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Protix<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 3 years ago","modified":"Updated 3 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on July 25, 2023","modified":"Updated on July 25, 2023"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on July 25, 2023 4:00 pm","modified":"Updated on July 25, 2023 4:00 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2580"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=453224"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453224\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/495458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=453224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=453224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=453224"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=453224"},{"taxonomy":"article_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_type?post=453224"},{"taxonomy":"serie","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/serie?post=453224"},{"taxonomy":"archives","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/archives?post=453224"},{"taxonomy":"internal_archives","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal_archives?post=453224"},{"taxonomy":"reboot-archive","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reboot-archive?post=453224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}