In Europe, the market for insects is expanding not only for food but also for livestock feed for pigs and chickens, and for shrimp farming. Among them, Prodix of the Netherlands and Innova Feed of France are leading the way in production volume. These companies also seem to have weaknesses. Innova Feed has a factory in Europe where the temperature is low, so it uses electricity for heating equipment. Similarly, Prodix has a factory in Europe where the temperature is low. It uses electricity for heating equipment. Its factory goes against environmental measures. In order to catch up with these leading companies, Sumitomo Corporation has acquired exclusive sales rights in Japan from a Singaporean startup in which it has invested. This startup has a unique feature that it does not need heating equipment when raising insects because it has a factory in an Asian region with a warm climate.
Musca, founded in Fukuoka City in 2016, uses flies to make feed and fertilizer. Musca has developed a system to make feed and fertilizer using livestock manure from livestock farms and leftover waste from food factories. By using Musca’s houseflies, livestock manure can be turned into feed or fertilizer in about a week. For every ton of organic waste, 300g of housefly eggs can be used to produce feed and fertilizer. Feed and fertilizer made from housefly eggs are supplied to livestock farmers and fish farmers. Livestock waste is generated in large quantities throughout the country, amounting to 80 million tons every year. With some ingenuity, local production and consumption of feed and fertilizer in Japan may be possible.
In January 2020, Professor Kenji Matsuura of Kyoto University collected a colony of giant termites in the forests of Kagoshima Prefecture and brought it home. Millions of giant termites, each about 1 cm long, were moving around among the leaves. About 45 grams of giant termites grow on 1 kilogram of thinned wood. These termites are high in protein, fat and fiber. Termites are as nutritious as soybean meal and fish meal, which are common chicken feed. Japan’s forest area is 25 million hectares, with an annual growth rate of about 100 million m3. Of that, only 34 million m3 of wood is produced. In other words, it is possible to have termites eat 66 million m3 of wood, which can then be used as food for fish and chickens. In regions where surplus resources can be used, it may be an interesting business to combine termite production with forestry and fishing.
