• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Tuesday, October 3, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Opinion

This Humble Fly Could Change Food Waste Forever

Josiane Nikiema by Josiane Nikiema
02/12/20
in Opinion
A bin with food waste

Between 30 and 40 percent of food in the United States goes to waste. Photo: Outarno Burgi, AFP

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

A black soldier fly buzzes over a pile of food waste salvaged from the leftovers of fruit and vegetable markets in Ghana’s bustling capital. As its name suggests, the fly and its counterparts are on a mission, albeit an unexpected one.

The Ento-Prise research project in Ghana is breeding these flies to reduce pressure on the country’s waste systems whose resources are becoming increasingly stretched by rapid population growth and urbanization.

These problems, however, are not unique to Ghana and are straining infrastructure and food systems all over the world. In perhaps an unlikely move, researchers and industry are turning to the humble fly as a potential solution.

How Do Flies Fight Waste?

Farmers and entrepreneurs can feed flies with organic waste, harvest the larvae, and then use or sell their biomass as livestock feed. This can generate new income by creating a feedstock that can replace soy or fishmeal, which have contributed to deforestation and overfishing.

Black soldier flies can consume most types of organic waste and gain up to 5000 times their body weight in just two weeks. The larvae are high in calcium and other minerals as well as vitamins, making them nutritionally rich and a promising feedstock alternative for many animals, including chickens, pigs, and fish.

The flies’ colonies can produce 100 percent more protein per year than chicken, soybeans, or cattle, on the same amount of land, which can also easily be converted into a nutty, protein powder. Meanwhile, they can also make a source for biodiesel, an organic fuel produced from fats accumulated by the larvae.

Large black soldier fly farms are popping up in Canada, the United Kingdom, China, and elsewhere, where this wonder fly is being heralded as a biological solution by alleviating waste and replacing resource-intensive feed, food, and fuel options.

The black soldier fly is said to “leapfrog” the entire waste management value chain, feeding on waste that can then almost immediately be harvested into a protein. Typically, this process would be much more complicated when waste derived compost is needed to grow crops to feed livestock for protein.

Wealth from Waste

When roughly one-third of food is wasted every year, preventing any more from entering landfills and emitting greenhouse gases is essential. Enterra Feed, an insect farming business from Canada valued at over $100 million, has already found success in the U.S. feed market with its fly-based protein alternative.

“Wealth from waste” business models that reuse wastewater, kitchen waste, and more, are gaining traction around the world. They show potential to reduce waste volume while recovering waste management costs or even making a profit, all while tackling mounting waste challenges. These flies could be the next big opportunity in waste management.

David Hu is a mechanical engineering professor who’s studying how black soldier fly larvae consume food… a lot of food. And he's doing this to understand if these efficient, feasting creatures can be harnessed for our own benefit: breaking down our waste https://t.co/PkeMYbCqeS pic.twitter.com/pxptJARNsB

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) October 15, 2019

Perhaps one of the most interesting elements of the black soldier fly business is that while many start-ups exist at both a household and large-scale industrial level, the presence of medium-scale facilities is minimal.

One of the reasons behind this is that legislation often limits either the waste materials allowed in insect production or the type of protein that a fish or poultry farm can consume, deterring business start-ups. However, where these obstacles were addressed, production can peak to process up to between 100 and 250 tons of organic waste daily.

Local regulations can also create an enabling environment to export the feed elsewhere, encouraging the proliferation of these farms. If businesses with a sound understanding of the technology can find the right levels of finance in the right regulatory environment, black soldier fly farming can grow quickly and be hugely valuable for people, economies, and the environment.

This wonder bug can be farmed almost anywhere in the world, consuming almost anything. It is about time that we see these creatures as less of a nuisance to be avoided, and more of a “super-fly” with the ability to help us solve global food and energy problems at once.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of The Globe Post.
ShareTweet
Josiane Nikiema

Josiane Nikiema

Senior Researcher, Environmental Sciences, International Water Management Institute (IWMI)

Related Posts

Farmers in Syria reap a bounty amidst US sanctions, war and a slow economy
World

Syria Harvest Boom Brings Hope as Hunger Spikes

by Staff Writer
July 3, 2020
A Syrian refugee family in Jordan
Middle East

Humanitarian Catastrophe ‘Imminent’ in Isolated Syrian Refugee Camp [Report]

by Bryan Bowman
October 16, 2018
Next Post
For Venezuela’s Opposition, the US is an Increasingly Uncomfortable Ally

Guaido Defends Sanctions Against Venezuela

Passengers being checked as they disembark from a plane carrying French citizens flown out of the coronavirus hot-zone in Wuhan

Coronavirus: What We Know and What We Don't

Recommended

Striated surgeonfish and royal angelfish swim by a coral reef along Egypt’s southern Red Sea coast

Countries Pledge to Raise $12B to Help Coral

October 3, 2023
Health care workers in Richmond, Texas. Photo: AFP

US Healthcare Industry Top Target of Cyber Attacks: Report

September 29, 2023
Joe Biden

The ‘Polycrisis’ Challenge: Biden’s Vision for Global Problem-Solving

September 26, 2023
Air France flights

Niger Bans French Aircraft From Its Airspace: Aviation Authority 

September 25, 2023
Chinese President Xi Jinping

China Announces ‘Strategic Partnership’ With Syria

September 22, 2023
Man holding up a colored LGBT flag

France Sets Up Embassy Fund to Defend LGBTQ Rights

September 19, 2023

Opinion

Joe Biden

The ‘Polycrisis’ Challenge: Biden’s Vision for Global Problem-Solving

September 26, 2023
Pro-Trump protester in front of Capitol Hill.

The Ominous (and Irresponsible) Chatter of a Civil War 

September 4, 2023
A bamboo-based design raises family homes safely above water levels to cope with raising water levels in Bangladesh.

The West Owes Climate Refugees Reparations Now

August 14, 2023
President Donald Trump in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House.

Boxing Day Comes to South Florida

July 5, 2023
‘Deaths of Despair:’ Why Are US Suicides on the Rise?

An Inspired Choice to Lead the CDC

June 13, 2023
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks at the Republican Jewish Coalition Annual Leadership Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada, on November 19, 2022.

Florida Man Channels Benito Mussolini

June 13, 2023
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post