Recently, Biblical Protein (meaning biblical protein), a locust protein brand produced by Hargol FoodTech, a new Israeli technology company, has successfully entered the US market. We know that Europe and the United States rarely eat insects.
(The image is mainly from Hargol, the same below)
Founded in 2016, Hargol is currently the global leader in locust protein. The company began large-scale factory farming of locusts to achieve high-quality, stable, annual production and provide food and beverage companies with edible protein.
Hargol claims to be the world's first company to raise locusts commercially, with unique and innovative farming methods.
The company has two technologies worth learning. Wheatgrass is used as a locust food. Greenhouse vertical planting technique, combined with hydroponic methods to cultivate wheatgrass, as locust feed. This method realizes the annual planting of wheatgrass, occupies less space, grows quickly, has a short cycle, has low cost and is highly efficient. Good economic benefits. This innovation is worth learning.
The pictures generally illustrate the locust feeding methods, which is enlightening to us
Another innovation is the breeding and improvement of locust varieties. Breeding and feeding on hay locust varieties (strains) that can find water and drink on their own. The improved breeding of locust varieties, which feed only hay, has been bred in its fifth generation, so feed costs have been greatly reduced to 3% of fresh grass. We know that wild locusts feed only on fresh grass, get water from fresh grass, and cannot find water on their own.
Cultivating fresh grass requires facilities and also requires human maintenance, using hay as feed, and the cost of human maintenance is reduced by 50%. The variety of hay locusts that are eaten is expected to start farming on farms in 2022 and will be more productive, a technology that is ahead of other insect protein producers. This innovative thinking is worth learning.
At present, the industrial breeding of insects is carried out on a variety of nutritional substrates (organic waste such as kitchen waste, waste food, livestock and poultry manure, etc.), mainly consuming food waste, and insect breeding converts low-cost feed into high protein.
Insects such as black water flies, mealworms, crickets and other insects eat organic matter (solid waste), which are at high risk of consumption and are currently mainly used as animal feed.
Unlike black water flies, mealworms, crickets, etc., locusts are picky about eating, eating only grass, ingesting water from grass, and no pesticides and fertilizers.
By 2050, the world's population will reach 9.8 billion people. Countries around the world are generally concerned about food security, especially the need for protein in humans and animals. As a renewable resource, insect protein will become an important source of human diet, medicine and nutrition for young children.
Locusts are important pests and also important edible insects, locust feed conversion efficiency is 20 times higher than livestock and poultry, raising locusts greenhouse gas emissions less, less land occupation, less water use. Locusts have a super reproductive capacity, and within 3 months, the population can increase by a factor of 100. As a delicacy, locusts have a mild and neutral taste, and can be mixed with other raw materials and processed into different foods for human consumption.
Hargol is constantly financing, expanding production and opening up international markets. North America and Europe are the largest potential markets for edible insect protein, and they are also the markets that the company strives to explore.
It occupies less space and uses less water and feed. Compared with traditional poultry and plant protein, locust feed conversion rate is 20 times higher than that of cattle, reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 98.8%, consumes only 1/1000 times the amount of water, requires 1/1500 times more arable land than cattle, and does not produce waste during the feeding process.
The locust powder produced by the company contains ≥ 70% protein content, including essential amino acids, unsaturated fatty acids and cholesterol.
Eating insects faces two major obstacles, namely prejudice and regulation. Many countries have put insects in their diets, and despite their abundance of nutrients, a large proportion of people still have no appetite for insects, so much publicity and popularization are still needed. The relevant regulations on edible insects are still not perfect, involving the production, processing, labeling, circulation and other aspects of insect farming (for food).
However, compared with livestock and poultry proteins, insect proteins are very competitive, and large-scale factory insect farming is a new industry with high attention at present.