Insect Farming??

lanod2407

A bit left of field - does anyone know if insect farming has any presence in Ireland for human food consumption?

_Brian

Don’t beleive there is.

I suppose like any farming, you’d need to ask where the market will be.

Tig98

Interesting question

I would hazard a guess that the types of insects that will be farmed for protein will not be native to Ireland and would pose a risk of escaping and establishing their own populations in the wild (if they can stand the cold). So that would be a can of worms/regulations. And there definitely is not the demand for it yet. Sounds like an uphill battle to me.

richie123

Tig98 wrote: »

Interesting question

I would hazard a guess that the types of insects that will be farmed for protein will not be native to Ireland and would pose a risk of escaping and establishing their own populations in the wild (if they can stand the cold). So that would be a can of worms/regulations. And there definitely is not the demand for it yet. Sounds like an uphill battle to me.

Already happening and it's in this country!! Check out hexafly I think there based in Kildare.

richie123

Tig98 wrote: »

Interesting question

I would hazard a guess that the types of insects that will be farmed for protein will not be native to Ireland and would pose a risk of escaping and establishing their own populations in the wild (if they can stand the cold). So that would be a can of worms/regulations. And there definitely is not the demand for it yet. Sounds like an uphill battle to me.

I don't think so it's basically the bluebottle fly.
It made into a protein powder ...only problem I think is cost of production is a lot higher compared to the likes of soya bean meal.

NcdJd

richie123 wrote: »

Already happening and it's in this country!! Check out hexafly I think there based in Kildare.

I see there is a new series of ear to the ground starting. In a clip was Daragh with both hands full of grubs. I take it there some form of new protein for the adventurous foodie people.

Years ago when I used to go fishing I used to get a pint of maggots, red and white. I take it someone in the country was producing these.

richie123

NcdJd wrote: »

I see there is a new series of ear to the ground starting. In a clip was Daragh with both hands full of grubs. I take it there some form of new protein for the adventurous foodie people.

Years ago when I used to go fishing I used to get a pint of maggots, red and white. I take it someone in the country was producing these.

I'd imagine so but hexafly are going to an industrial scale be interesting to see what the economic s are like behind it but I think at the moment it's an expensive product

NcdJd

richie123 wrote: »

I'd imagine so but hexafly are going to an industrial scale be interesting to see what the economic s are like behind it but I think at the moment it's an expensive product

Wonder would this be an alternative source of protein for non meat eaters ? Might save some of the Amazon rain forest being cut down for soy production.

Would you try them ? I've seen people on TV eating them alive. Think I'd rather them in some sort of batter before I'd have a go at them.

Edit and maybe a few pints beforehand ha.

Red Sheds

Per kilo its a very expensive form of protein to produce and therefore buy compared to other forms. Its made into a flour and consumed that way, but I dont think the economics of it stacks up at the moment for it to become a mainstream food product. It has its followers, but few and then there is the whole cultural and behavioral change to happen in Europe before we start to accept insects as part of our regular diet

Birdnuts

If you travel a bit the likes of Grasshoppers etc. are a common snack over large parts of Asia and Africa - just another way of getting protein from the likes of Grass, albeit in a much more efficient way. Have tried it myself and tasted grand - a bit like a prawn stirfry

richie123

Red Sheds wrote: »

Per kilo its a very expensive form of protein to produce and therefore buy compared to other forms. Its made into a flour and consumed that way, but I dont think the economics of it stacks up at the moment for it to become a mainstream food product. It has its followers, but few and then there is the whole cultural and behavioral change to happen in Europe before we start to accept insects as part of our regular diet

True ... seemingly the flys are fed something like distillers grain/eornagold little to no nutrition but good enough for flys.i met them at the ploughing a few years interesting stuff now

gozunda

Its seems its being used for pet food for those who mainly listen to too much anti animal agriculture bs

I think fido will stick to his normal diet ftm

_Brian

gozunda wrote: »

Its seems its being used for pet food for those who mainly listen to too much anti animal agriculture bs

I think fido will stick to his normal diet ftm

So for them are flies small enough to fall below the cut off to be disgusted about their farming ??

richie123

_Brian wrote: »

So for them are flies small enough to fall below the cut off to be disgusted about their farming ??

Exactly do insects being killed for food repel the antifarm lobbies too??I'd love to know