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A switch to consumption of edible insects also might hugely
reduce greenhouse gas emissions and thereby help reduce cli-
mate change. Crickets and mealworms produce 1 percent of the
amount of greenhouse gases produced by cattle. Some edible
insects can even be grown in and fed on waste products, thus
reducing environmental pollution by re-
cycling products such as the grain left “Edible insects could be
over from making beer or expired fruits the solution to the prob-
and vegetables from grocery stores. lem of how to meet the
Miha Pipan, scientifi c offi cer of the com- growing global demand
pany Entomics, is an enthusiastic ad- for food in a sustainable
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way.”
vocate for the benefi ts of insect farming
with wastes, both to feed humanity and — Alan-Javier Hernandez-Alvarez of
to save the planet. He explains, “Insects the University of Leeds
have an immense potential in help[ing]
humanity deal with facing the threat of
climate change and food production re-
silience. From the inherently low usage
of land, to the ability of insects eating
decomposing wastes (which is a major cause of methane emis-
sions worldwide), to the marginal lower water usage per kilo of
protein produced. I could go on for a while on this topic.” 21

Bug Companies
Although no one is practicing large-scale insect farming yet,
some of the insects already being farmed on a small scale
around the world include crickets, mealworms, black soldier
fl ies, grasshoppers, silkworms, and cicadas. Bugfoundation is a
European company that sells a burger in several countries that
is made of buffalo worms cultivated in the Netherlands. One
of the company founders, Max Kramer, explains, “The insects
are crushed to obtain paste and other vegetarian ingredients
are added to the mix, such as onions and tomato paste.” The
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popular frozen insect burger has been sold in supermarkets in
Germany since 2018, and curious and interested consumers

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