Online Program

334802
Insect Farming and the Search for Sustainable Protein


Tuesday, November 3, 2015 : 8:50 a.m. - 9:10 a.m.

Valerie Stull, MPH, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
Rachel Bergmans, MPH, Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI
Global food security is increasingly pressured by climate change, a growing population, and widespread poverty. Future crop production must increase to meet population nutritional demand with fewer greenhouse gas emissions. Edible insect farming offers one underexplored means to improve nutrition, food security, and public health, with a reduced environmental impact. Entomophagy is common globally and has played a critical role in human nutrition throughout history.  Edible insects efficiently convert low-quality feed into body mass rich in protein, utilizing little water or land and emitting few greenhouse gases; conventional livestock production is the world’s largest source of methane. This study explores the potential for yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) minilivestock to serve as a sustainable, nutritionally complete, alternative to high-emitting traditional livestock.  The purpose of this study is to evaluate the growth rate and nutritional quality of mealworm larvae reared on feed-substrates of low nutritional quality—including corn stover, a byproduct that is readily available to many smallholder farmers. Early instar mealworm larvae were reared in a Percival Scientific Chamber to control temperature, humidity, and light. Stock culture were grown for 30 days on one of three food substrate mixtures and monitored regularly. At 30 days, mealworms were harvested and analyzed for total amino acid profile and crude protein content. Results suggest that mealworms reared on nitrogen-poor agricultural byproducts, including corn stover, grow at reduced rates, but retain comparable quantities and ratios of all essential amino acids, suggesting that the yellow mealworm could feasibly source a low-environmental impact, nutrient-dense food product.

Learning Areas:

Environmental health sciences
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Discuss the need for sustainable, low-emissions protein sources to meet global protein demands. Evaluate the potential for insects reared on low-nutrient agricultural byproducts to improve health and food security. Identify future research needs surrounding insect farming and implications for public health.

Keyword(s): Environmental Health, Food Security

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: After completing my MPH is 2009, I worked in International Development and Public Health in several countries. Currently, as a PhD Student in Environment and Resources at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, my research focus is on sustainable agriculture and environmental health. I am investigating the potential for edible insect farming to provide a sustainable, environmentally friendly, safe, and nutritionally sound food source for humans and animals. This work follows the groundbreaking FAO report from 2013.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4029.0: Food and the Environment