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Published on Monday, June 19, 2017

Maggots at Work to Cut Food Waste

[INTERESTING]

Maggots at Work to Cut Food Waste

(Image by Paul Venter via Wikimedia)

Food waste is a staggering problem in the United States. But researchers and entrepreneurs from The University of Colorado Boulder think they may have found the solution: maggots. And not only do the maggots deal with food waste, they also make excellent food for farm animals and fertilizer for plants.

 

The Maggots

The maggots in question are the larvae of black soldier flies. When fully grown, the flies are about half an inch long, thin and black, with blue-tinted wings. They are not attracted to humans or considered pests. Instead, they are known for their incredible abilities to break down organic materials.

 

As larvae, these premature black soldier flies are barely visible to the human eye. However, in just a matter of days, they grow to weigh approximately half a gram. And their appetite, for any type of organic matter, grows just as quickly.

 

The maggots are being bred by Phil Taylor, a research ecologist at the University of Colorado. Taylor has a small greenhouse in Boulder County, Colorado that houses 20,000 black soldier flies. The flies will mate and lay eggs in the chamber, which eventually become the larvae that Taylor and his colleagues are after.

 

The Method

Phil Taylor is the mastermind behind Mad Agriculture, the startup that puts black soldier fly larvae to work. He begins by putting the larvae collected from his greenhouse into bins filled with food waste. He gets the waste, a pulp, from a local juice company. Taylor then leaves the larvae to eat the waste for days.


As they eat, a metabolic reaction within the larvae gives off heat. In fact, the larvae generate so much heat that the bins they are held in feel warm to the touch.


Once the larvae have reached a specified size and weight, Taylor pulls them out of the bins. They are killed and then used as food for farmyard chickens. Their leftover castings, known as frass, are used as fertilizer. And the food waste they were munching on is practically gone.


Larvae as Food

In addition to their incredible ability to eliminate food waste, the larvae themselves are also useful as a food source. Taylor plans to grow his startup, Mad Agriculture, so he can sell the larvae as a protein-rich feed ingredient for chicken and fish farms. His plan is to have his greenhouses, small-scale insect refineries, in waste facilities around the country.

 

Chicken and fish farmers usually supply their animals with a feed made of grain, fat, protein and other nutrients. This feed is compiled at a mill and turned into pellets. The protein in these pellets is often made from soybeans or fish meal, and is often the most costly part of the feed.

 

Taylor explains why his larvae alternative protein would be much more cost efficient. He says, “We can produce the equivalent to an acre of soybean protein in two weeks in this little tiny refinery when it's fully cranking. Not requiring any fertilizer, no water, no arable land.”

 

A similar concept in Austin, Texas, Little Herds, is also working to place insect refineries on farms so they can turn their own food waste into animal feed. President of Little Herds, Robert Nathan Allen, explains, “We can empower these farmers with equipment and the expertise to turn food waste into the proteins for their livestock.” By using insects instead of an alternative, fish meal, more fish would be able to stay in the ocean. The insects are also able to divert food waste, which is a huge source of greenhouse gas emissions.



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Author: AThompson

Categories: Blogs, Companies, Food & Cooking, Research, Green Living, Animals & Wildlife

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