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.
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.
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.