DAGLI INSETTI UN CONTRIBUTO PER

NUTRIRE IL PIANETA

OPPORTUNITIES AND

CONSTRAINTS FOR INCLUSION OF

INSECTS in the FOOD CHAIN

Paul Vantomme@fao.org

overview

1. Context and Drivers in our Food

and Feed supply:

The (animal!) Protein crunch

2. Why Insects ?

Most suitable alternative, globally

3. FAO’s role ?

Awareness and info sharing

The Economist, 20 dec 2014

China’s insatiable appetite for pork is a symbol of

the country’s rise. It is also a danger to the world.

• Since 1970: pork consumption X 7

• China produces now 500 m swine a year,

increasingly relying on imported feed (50% of

total global soy market)....causing deforestation

in the Amazon.

Feeding chickens, fish,pork in China

China bought a record 70 million tonnes of soy (FAO, 2013)

Since 2011, China is the world largest “Food” importing country (80 B$)

2050

1 May 2014 Nature, Vol 509 China produces almost

30% of the world’s pork,

and its farmers use FOUR

TIMES more antibiotics

than their US, EUcounterparts to produce

the same amount of meat.

Antibiotic resistance

genes(ARGs) are enriched

by up to 28,000-fold in

manure and soil on

Chinese pig farms

“But the animal industry

is less developed in

coping with manure and

waste water”

Phasing Out Certain Antibiotic Use in

Farm Animals

• CAN INSECTS HELP US TO REDUCE LEVELS OF

ANTI-BIOTICS IN FARMED ANIMALS!!!

Antimicrobial Peptides (AMPs)

INSECT AMP

1. Context and Drivers in our Food

and Feed supply

Can we produce enough, safe food ?

Previous forecasts on feeding the

planet

Thomas Robert Malthus

An Essay on the Principle of Population (1798)

"The power of population growth is indefinitely

greater than the power in the earth to produce

subsistence for man".

(world population in 1800: approx. 1 billion)

Club of Rome :The Limits to Growth

(1972)

food

2010

World population 1972: 4 billion

Feed the WORLD in 2014

We are feeding:

• 7 billion people (42 kg of MEAT/ 20 Kg of FISH

(average capita food availability)

• < 1 billion pet animals (dogs, cats, birds, fish,

horses, .......zoo’s)

Farmed animals for human consumption

• 20 billion chickens/ 1,5 cattle,pigs/ 1,2 ducks/ 1,1

b sheep/ 1 b goats/ 0,8 b rabbits/....

• 70 million tons of food fish (aquaculture).......

What food ? 8.4 billion tons (FAO, 2012)

Animal ( b$ / mTons)

• Milk 226 / 723

• Meat:– Cattle 169 / 62

– Pig 169 / 109

– Chicken 132 / 93

• Eggs 55 / 66

(751)

................

By 2050: 70% more

Vegetal (b$/mTons)

• Rice 186 / 738

• Wheat 79 / 671

• Soy 61 / 241

• Tomato 59 / 161

• Sugarcane 58 / 1842

• Corn 54 / 873

• Potatoes 49 / 365

• Vegetables 46 / 270

• Fruits (4) 122 / 186

• Cassava 25 / 269

(739)

By 2050: 50% more

To feed the WORLD in 2014

Global food/feed production requires:

• 40% of world ice-free land surface is for AGRICULTURE (forest: 30%; deserts-mountains:25; wetlands,urban,....

• 70% of total agriculture land use is for feeding livestock

• 30% of all grains fed to animals (Soy:80%/Corn:50%)

• 70% of total fresh water use is for agriculture

• 110 million tons of chemical fertilizer

• 2,3 million tons of pesticides

• 14 a 17% of total GHG emissions (6 b tons of manure)

Feed the planet: summary

• Global agriculture production tripled in last 50 years with only 12% increase in farmed area

(population doubled during the last 50 years!)

• Water consumption growing twice as fast as population growth

• Food loss and waste at 1.3 billion tons/year (out of the 8.4b). Net food availability: 1 ton/ person/ year

Context to feed the WORLD by 2050

We will need to feed:

• 9 billion people (with higher demands for animal

derived proteins up to 80 kg of MEAT/ 35 Kg of FISH (average capita food availability)

• > 2 billion pet animals (dogs, cats, birds, fish, horses, .......zoo’s)

Farmed animals for human consumption

chicken and aquaculture: 7% annual increase

• 60 billion chickens ?

• 140 million tons of food fish (aquaculture) ?.......

Pressure: more PROTEIN

• Per capita consumption of major food items in developing countries (1961-2005) → increasing demand for meat and other animals products

between 1980 and 2005 (FAO):per capita consumption

FAO, 2009

eggs x 5

meat x 3

milk x 2

Per capita MEAT consumption

Italy: 91 kg

BUT CAN THIS PRODUCTION KEEP GROWING

AT THIS PACE ?

And, What is the FEED ???

What FEED ?

SOY

China India

SOY

In 2012-2013795 million tonnes of cereals (1/3 cereal production)

By 2050 an additional 520 million tonnes (1/2 cereal production)

To feed our animals

Monogastric sector (chickens, pigs, aquaculture,.)In 2013Consumed 155 million tonnes of feed protein (mainly Soy) In 2050Additional 110 million tonnes of feed protein (50% from cereals/soy and rest from other protein sources – incl. INSECTS !)

In 2013110 million tonnes of course grains used for bioethanol

FOOD - FEED - ENERGY (+bioplastics) COMPETION 60% 30% 10%

www.igiornielenotti.it

Carnivore fish in nature does not eat soy

For free roaming chickens: insects are

part of their feed......

2. Protein alternatives

• Capture more out of oceans: Medusae, Jelly fish, krill,...

• Farming the sea: macro,micro Algae (Spirula – High tech)

• Artificial proteins: meat (120.000$/kg), synthetic (6$/kg)

• More out of Agro-industry processing byproducts: maisgluten, brewers grains,...

• Farming Less common plant protein sources: oil seeds; legumes, forages, trees (Moringa),.......

• .........

Compete for land, water, fertilizers, farm inputs OR High capital/tech (spirula)

potential: regional- niche markets

Why Insects ?

• Food for 2 b people + natural feed of chickens, carnivore fish, pigs,...

• Good proteins, fats, minerals, + micro nutrients

• Feed conversion efficiency: 4x cattle

• Can be Fed with organic waste, not competing with foods for humans

• Fast breeding cycle (10 days to 1 month)

• Less water, land, CHG,..

• Socially more inclusive – easy to farm, no need for huge investment or “high tech” skills

• Opportunities for business and jobs at any level, everywhere

• May help reduce use of antibiotics in feed......

• Interdisciplinary: food-feed-health-waste disposal- climate change...

• Global market potential........

“one stone....many birds”

Alicante, Spain

100 Kg brewery waste 0,4 kg seed larvae

10 days

25ºC

33 kg fertilizer

Bio digester

33 kg larval biomass 12 kg fly meal

Black Soldier Fly larvae production

Good for business

• Company Start-ups:– food: Chapul, Six Foods, Ento, ......

– Feed: Enviroflight, Agriprotein, Protix, Ynsect, BioFlyTech,..

• New products – gastronomy & health– Energy bars

– Biscuits and sweets

– Insect burgers

– Pesto’s and spreads

– Health products

– ..........

3. FAO’s role ?

• Improve and focus awareness (Media, sectors: food, feed,... ....

• Events, projects, gastronomy... Consumer acceptance

• Increase knowledge generation, dissemination,

networking.... (incl. protection of (indigenous) knowledge, nutrition data,

environmental benefits, LCA, socio-economic contribution, jobs, ....

• Legislation and regulatory frameworks (food, feed,

waste disposal, insect inclusive nature conservation strategies, habitat protection, gathering,

processing, trade, consumer protection, health, ..... (Codex Alimentarius)

• Economic’s and technology: reduce costs, improve efficiencies,

automation, business innovation and new products, .......

Academia

Policy makers

Private sector

Field projects

LAOS THAILAND CONGO

TRAINING 1000

INSECT FARMERS

IN KINSHASA

2013 Edible Insect publication

• Recycling pig manure to chicken feed using fly

larvae

• Proteinsect EU project: http://www.proteinsect.eu/

• Greeinsect Denmark project: http://greeinsect.ku.dk/

• Thailand cricket farming video

MANY THANKS .....and

good appetite !