Insects' contribution to the bioeconomy and the reduction of food waste

Abstract

The growing global population and awareness of the unsustainability of livestock production have led consumers, companies, organizations, and governments to consider entomophagy (eating insects) as a more sustainable option. Minilivestock offers advantages over traditional livestock production: with greater diversity, higher nutritional levels, higher energy efficiency, higher reproductive rates, lower environmental footprint, and lower costs. This article aims to demonstrate how the successful implementation of entomophagy in the West can positively contribute to the bioeconomy. The article does this by exploring entomophagy, presenting novel research on entrepreneurs in insect farming, and introducing food waste as a free, plentiful, and sustainable feed resource for insect farms. Although none of the insect farms included in this research showed any links between insect farms and food waste reduction, this is expected to change as the industry matures.