The use of insects as food for humans and as feed for livestock is increasingly acknowledged as a viable strategy to enhance food security while reducing environmental pressures. From a nutritional perspective, entomophagy is not a recent phenomenon but rather a long-standing practice in many cultures.
Insect farming requires low production inputs therefore representing an important opportunity, given the prospect of a growing world population and a simultaneous reduction in available resources. In Europe, being a so-called “Novel Food” (Regulation (EU) 2015/2283), legislation to regulate the production and consumption of insects, both for human and animal diet, has been taking first steps in recent years. At this current stage, human and animal consumption of some insect species has been approved by the European Commission, opening to a promising future increase of consumption.
Indoor cultivation systems can be particularly versatile for any type of environment, from the hottest to the coldest, allowing you to control all the environmental parameters necessary for the development of a plant, such as light, temperatures and relative humidity.
The FrontAg Nexus project investigated the small-scale rearing of Galleria mellonella (wax moth) larvae as a valuable, protein- and fat-rich feed ingredient, using alternative diets based on food-industry waste streams. Food-industry by-products can be adopted as alternative ingredients to replace components of the conventional Galleria mellonella diet, in line with circular economy principles. This approach not only reduces production costs of the rearing but also alleviates pressure on urban waste management systems.
Vertical farming offers a sustainable solution for urban food production, but energy optimization remains a critical challenge, with nearly half of the electricity requirements dedicated to artificial lighting. Dynamic adjustment of blue and red light can reduce energy costs, as blue light is more energy-intensive, thereby lowering operating expenses and increasing profitability.
The Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem (WEFE) Nexus has evolved from a resource efficiency paradigm within water, energy, and food (WEF) systems toward a broader governance framework that recognizes ecosystems as essential to resource security and sustainability.
Dynamic management of nitrogen (N) guided by multispectral sensors can help match in-season crop N requirements with precise N supply through fertigation. In the present work, different dynamic strategies to optimise N fertigation in processing tomatoes were explored in two plot experiments across two different years and locations, compared with a well-fertilised control (180 kg N ha-1, N180). In dynamic N strategies, the green vegetation index (GVI) was monitored with a hand-held multispectral radiometer.
This study explores frontier agriculture technologies in the Mediterranean, highlighting their readiness levels, benefits, and role in promoting sustainable, circular food systems under climate change pressures.
The production and consumption of insects as human food or as livestock feed is considered a resource capable of having a positive impact on food security and the environment. From the perspective of human consumption, entomophagy has a long history of application.
Urban agriculture has long been identified as a valid solution to guarantee food security and the creation of small profitable businesses in developing and non-developing countries. As is known, the number of inhabitants in cities has recently exceeded the number of inhabitants in rural areas, resulting in an extension of the concrete surface and a greater distance from food supply areas.