Environmental aspects of insect mass production

Smetana, Sergiy; Spykman, Raphaela; Heinz, Volker

doi:10.3920/jiff2020.0116

Cited by 66 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 78 publications

(371 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Previous sustainability assessment studies of insect production for food and feed, published in the last decade, concentrated on the black soldier fly (BSF), Hermetia illucens (Table 1) (Smetana et al 2021). Most studies assessed environmental aspects but only a few also considered economic aspects of insect cultivation (Roffeis et al 2018;Pleissner and Smetana 2020;Ites et al 2020).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

A modular environmental and economic assessment applied to the production of Hermetia illucens larvae as a protein source for food and feed

Spykman

Hossaini

Peguero

et al. 2021

Int J Life Cycle Assess

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose The inclusion of insect protein into the food system has been proposed as a promising solution to ensure future food security and mitigate negative environmental impacts related to food production. However, the market volume for edible insects in Europe is still small; consequently, producers need a decision-support system to ensure the sustainable upscaling of the sector. The study analyzed environmental and economic impacts of insect production to identify the most eco-efficient production scenarios. Methods A novel modular eco-efficiency assessment approach was developed to analyze the production of dried Hermetia illucens larvae. An exemplary, industrial-scale insect production system was disaggregated into a total of 29 module variants that can be combined into 4608 distinct production scenarios, which are characterized by different feeds, energy efficiencies, and processing technologies. Environmental life cycle and cost assessments were carried out for each module variant, and eco-efficiency assessment was used to jointly assess these two sustainability dimensions. Additionally, the influence of the insect feed on the production system performance and impact was investigated by employing feed-specific scaling factors. These were used to aggregate module results into production scenario results. Results and discussion The most eco-efficient production scenarios include energy-efficient rearing facilities that rely on blanching and microwave drying for processing. The insect feed is the largest contributor to the environmental impacts and costs, but from an eco-efficiency standpoint, the choice of feed might not be crucial. Waste-type feeds (e.g., manure, fruit, and vegetable waste) have low environmental impacts and costs, but the production scenarios based on these feeds are less efficient. The low impacts of the feed are offset by higher impacts during the rearing and processing stages. Conversely, scenarios based on higher quality feeds (e.g., by-products like wheat middlings or distiller’s grains) require less resources, but the initial feed impacts and costs are higher. Moreover, of the feed types studied, only highly processed ones, such as compound chicken feed, should be avoided for insect rearing. Conclusions The developed modular assessment approach is efficient in assessing multiple potential insect production scenarios. It can be adapted to incorporate additional variations of the production system via additional modules. Limitations include the potential for redundant module combinations and the up-front time investment needed. Finally, the results are sensitive to methodological choices: thus, these should be carefully considered and communicated during the design of the modular assessment system.

show abstract

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

A modular environmental and economic assessment applied to the production of Hermetia illucens larvae as a protein source for food and feed

Spykman

Hossaini

Peguero

et al. 2021

Int J Life Cycle Assess

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The amounts of emitted pollutants during composting process were calculated based on EPA, 2010 58 . Feed is a major factor with regard to the total environmental impacts of insect production either as a burden or as avoided impacts in case of waste treatment 59 . In this study, the emissions within composting process were included as production on-site emissions (Table 6), and the bio-waste treatment was considered as an avoided product.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life cycle assessment of edible insects (Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis larvae) as a future protein and fat source

Nikkhah

Haute

Jovanović

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Because it is important to develop new sustainable sources of edible protein, insects have been recommended as a new protein source. This study applied Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to investigate the environmental impact of small-scale edible insect production unit in South Korea. IMPACT 2002 + was applied as the baseline impact assessment (IA) methodology. The CML-IA baseline, EDIP 2003, EDP 2013, ILCD 2011 Midpoint, and ReCiPe midpoint IA methodologies were also used for LCIA methodology sensitivity analysis. The protein, fat contents, and fatty acid profile of the investigated insect (Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis larvae) were analyzed to determine its potential food application. The results revealed that the studied edible insect production system has beneficial environmental effects on various impact categories (ICs), i.e., land occupation, mineral extraction, aquatic and terrestrial ecotoxicity, due to utilization of bio-waste to feed insects. This food production system can mitigate the negative environmental effects of those ICs, but has negative environmental impact on some other ICs such as global warming potential. By managing the consumption of various inputs, edible insects can become an environmentally efficient food production system for human nutrition.

show abstract

“…This accountability can be done using a life cycle assessment (LCA). In this issue, Smetana et al (2021) compared 24 LCA studies to determine the sustainability of insect production chains; most dealt with the black soldier fly Hermetia illucens, yellow mealworm T. molitor and house fly Musca domestica. The majority of the 24 studies assessed used the attributional LCA approach, which only takes a specific product life cycle into account; a few conducted a consequential LCA, which also considers alternative uses of a product (e.g.…”

Section: Environmental Impactmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Environmental impact and insect welfare Smetana et al (2021), who compared several environmental impact studies of insects as food and feed, state that in order to achieve consistency and comparability of results, future studies should carefully determine system boundaries, scale of production, the reference (functional) unit, and the methodology used for impact assessment, e.g. what type of life cycle analysis is used (attributional or consequential).…”

Section: Exploring Other Insect Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advancing edible insects as food and feed in a circular economy

Huis

Rumpold

Fels‐Klerx

et al. 2021

JIFF

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

An overview is given of the special issue on edible insects covering a number of aspects along the value change. The articles presented cover topics about producing insects both as food for humans and feed for animals, ranging from environmental impact, facility design, (left-over) substrates, the role of microbes, genetics, diseases, nutrition, to insect welfare. Possible health benefits of insects for humans and animals are discussed as well as the potential dangers in terms of allergies and chemical/biological contaminants. Regulatory frameworks are examined and assessed for remaining obstacles. The technologies dealing with the processing and extraction of proteins, lipids, and chitin were also reviewed. Consumers’ perception of insect-derived food products is discussed as well. A unique aspect of this special issue within the ‘Journal of Insects as Food and Feed’ is a first attempt to discuss the economics of the industry. The special issue concludes with a discussion of policy and challenges facing the sector.

show abstract

Environmental aspects of insect mass production

Cited by 66 publications

References 78 publications

A modular environmental and economic assessment applied to the production of Hermetia illucens larvae as a protein source for food and feed

A modular environmental and economic assessment applied to the production of Hermetia illucens larvae as a protein source for food and feed

Life cycle assessment of edible insects (Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis larvae) as a future protein and fat source

Advancing edible insects as food and feed in a circular economy

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About