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Ariseintheglobalhumanpopulationatarateof75millionannually,pairedwithrisinglivingstandardsinemergingecono-miesarecausinganincreaseinglobalfooddemand.Thisisparticularlyper-tinentforanimalprotein,forwhichdemandisexpectedtogrowby70percentbytheyear2050.Inadditiontotraditionalsystems,theever-increasingdemandiscurrentlymetbyaconstantexpansioninintensiveand

modernlivestockproductionsystems.However,dependingoncurrentagro-ecosystemstomeetthisdemandisenvironmentallychallengingwhenoneconsiderstheover-exploitationoffertilelands,waterresourcescarcity,andcuttingdownofforests.

Forexample,itisestimatedthatonebillionpeopleinSouthAsiaandsub-SaharanAfricadependonlivestockproductionaloneforfoodandlivelihoods.1However,livestock

productionoccupiesthelargestshareofagriculturallandusedforeithergrazingorgrowingfeedcrops,whichcouldbeusedforgrowingfoodsfordirectconsumption.Italsoemitsthehighestamountofgreenhousegases(GHG)throughentericfermentationandmanureproductionincomparisontoothersourcesofGHGemissions,andthusplaysasignificantroleinclimatechange.Livestockproductioncanalsonegativelyaffectnatural

BlackSoldierFly:ABioToolforConvertingFoodWasteintoLivestockFeedby Marwa Shumo

Shumo,M.(2016).BlackSoldierFly:ABioToolforConvertingFoodWasteintoLivestockFeed.Solutions7(4):36-39.

https://thesolutionsjournal.com/article/black-soldier-fly-a-bio-tool-for-converting-waste-into-livestock-feed/

Marwa Shumo Adult black soldier flies.

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resourcessuchasland,water,andbiodiversitythatarealreadysubjecttodegradationandclimatechange.Therefore,thereisaneedtofindalternativemethodstoincreaseagriculturalproductionotherthanintensifyingtheuseofcurrentones.Itispossibletofindasolutionforlivestockfeedotherthanincreasingtheamountoflandsusedforgrowingfeedcrops.

Ontheotherhand,aroundonethirdoftotalannualglobalfoodproductionatbothpre-andpost-consumptionstagesiswasted,andvegetablesandfruitsaccountforalmosthalfofthatwaste.Pre-consumptionintheformofpostharvestlossaccountsforaround40percentoffoodlostinthedevelop-ingworld.Thisismainlyduetopoorinfrastructure,harvestfacilities,trans-portation,andlackoffarmerssupport.Onthecontrary,nearlyhalfoffoodlossesinthedevelopedworldoccuratretailandconsumerlevelsduetoqualitystandardsthatoveremphasizeappearance.2

Traditionaleffortsarenormallyappliedtoproducecompostandanimalfeedfromfoodwaste.However,theseeffortsdependonslowthermodynamicprocessesofeithercompostingordependingonfarmanimalsthatarecapableoffeedingonfoodwastesandreprocessingthemintomanure.Bioconversiontheprocessofconvertingfoodwasteintoinsectlarvalbiomassandorganicresi-duescanbeanalternativetotheseinefficienttraditionalpractices.3

Therearevariousreasonstofavorbioconversionovertraditionalwastemanagementprocesses.Bioconversionreducestheamountoforganicmate-rialbybiologicalprocessingagentssuchasmicroorganismsorenzymesthattransferorganicmaterialintousableproductsorenergysources,thusprovidinggreaterspatialpoten-tialforlandfillsandwastecontainers.

Inaddition,wastereductionlimitsodorsassociatedwithlandfillsandwastesites,preventingtheaccumulationofunwantedmaterialonsolidsurfacesthatareassociatedwithrecyclablesandtheblockageofsewerpipelinesbysolidwastes.Bioconversionalsolimitsmethaneproductionduetotheanaerobicdegra-dationoforganicmaterialsinlandfillsandwastesites.4Furthermore,biocon-versionisanaturalprocessthatcanbeusedandadaptedwithinhouseholds,bringingdownthecostsrelatedtothetransportandrecyclingofwaste.

Asafoodsource,insectscontainhighqualityprotein,vitamins,andaminoacids.Theyhaveafoodconver-sionratethatrequiresuptosixtimeslessfeedthanlivestockfortheproduc-tionofthesameamountofprotein.Inaddition,theyemitlessgreenhousegasesandammoniathantraditionallivestockandcanberearedonorganicwaste.Insectsarethusapotentiallypowerfulsourcefordirecthumanconsumptionasfoodorindirectlyasaproteinsourceinlivestockfeedmealmixtures.

Iworkwithagroupofresearcherswhoareexploringvariousinsectsforfoodandfeedandtargetingsmallfarmerswhonotonlycandecomposetheirorganicwasteinanenvironmen-tallyfriendlyway,butcanalsoinvestincropproductionfordirecthumanconsumption,ratherthanlivestockfeed.Mymainresearchlooksattheuseofblacksoldierflies(Hermetia

illucens)(BSF)forfeedproductionandasapotentialcandidateforthebioconversionoforganicwaste.BSFareparticularlyinteresting,astheyefficientlyconvertvariousorganicwastesintohigh-profileproteinthroughdecomposition,haveglobaldistribution,includingmoisttropicandsubtropicalregions,andcantoler-ateextremetemperatures.58

BSFhavebeenusedforwastemanagementwithinthecontextofbioconversion,andtheycanalsomakeuseofvariousnutrientsabundantinwastestreams.9Inparticular,their

larvaecanreduceasignificantamountoffood,animal,andsewagewaste.Furthermore,theyarenotpestsandactuallydeterthecommonhousefliesthatarenormallylinkedtowasteandlowhygieneandhealthstandards.1012BSFarenotknowntobevectorsofanydiseaselinkedtoanimalorhumanhealth,unlikeotherinsectssuchasthecommonhouseflyormosquitoes.Inaddition,BSFcanbeusedasafoodproteinsource.Whencomparedtolivestockproducts,theyexhibitsomeadvantages.Oneisthattheyarecold-bloodedandthuscanconvertfeedmuchmoreefficientlyintoedibleproduct.Inaddition,theyproducelessammoniaandGHGthantraditionallivestock,andoccupylessspacephysically.13

Althoughthisfieldofresearchisstillinitsinfancy,studieshaveindicatedthatBSFhavetheabilitytoinactivateandreduceharmful

Bioconversion is a natural process that can be used and adapted within households, bringing down the costs related to the transport and recycling of waste.

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microbialcontaminantspresentinwastesamplesbymodifyingwastesmicroflora.14

BSFalsoshowedsomepotentialinreducingheavymetaltracesbyincor-poratingandconcentratingnutrientsfromwastesamplesintolivestockfeed.Thisreducesthewastesnutri-entconcentrationandbulk,therebyreducingthepollutionpotentialby50to60percentormore.

TheremainingBSF-decomposedwastecanbeusedasabiocompostthatcanbereadilyappliedtoagriculturallands.Thiscanalsoactasasolutiontoreplacetheuseofchemicalfertilizers,whichcandepletesoilifappliedinexcessiveamountsandarecostly.

Insectmealisafoodproductpreparedbydryingandpulverizinginsects,andisproventopromotefoodassimilationandgrowthinanimals.

Itisalsorichinanimalproteinandvitamins.Itcansubstituteforthecostlycomponentsoffishmeal,soymeal,andgrainsthatareaddedtolivestockfeedinordertopromotefoodassimilationandgrowthinanimals.15InsectslikeBSFaregoodcandidatesbecauseoftheirabilitytoefficientlytransformwasteintohighproteinproducts.Yet,therearemanychallengestobeaddressedregardingtheiruse,suchastheabilitytoharvesttheseinsectsinasustain-ablewaywhilealsomeetingglobaldemand.Untilnow,edibleinsectshavebeencollectedfromnatureandtheirpotentialfutureuseasfeedmealwillrequirelarge-scaleproduc-tion.Therefore,methodstoproduceinsectmealshouldbedevelopedinawaytomeettherisingdemandssustainably.Inaddition,legislation

ontheirproductionanduseneedstobedevelopedandfoodsafetymattersaddressed.

Ultimately,edibleinsectsprovideapromisingfuturesourceforanimalprotein.Inparticular,BSFshowagreatpotentialinprovidinguswithlive-stockfeedbyutilizingorganicwasteinanenvironmentallysustainablefashion.

AcknowledgmentsThisresearchwascarriedoutunderthesupervisionofChristianBorgemeister,Dr.SundayEkesi,Dr.IsaacOsuga,andDr.FathyiaKhamis,andisfundedbytheINSEFEEDprogramatICIPEanditsdonors:InternationalDevelopmentResearchCentre(IDRC)andAustralianCentreforInternationalAgriculturalResearch(ACIAR).

Marwa Shumo Black soldier fly larvae.

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Marwa Shumo A black soldier fly bioconversion chamber.