Written by Iain Hoey
According to researchers, Insect-based feeds for farmed animals could provide a low-carbon, sustainable solution to help the UK reach its net zero carbon emissions target as emissions from agriculture is named one of the biggest issues standing in the way of the UKs 2050 target.
As population levels rise, it is expected that fish and poultry consumption will increase, generating a greater demand for animal feedstocks, and therefore animal-feed ingredients. he global feed industry is energy-intensive, reliant on international imports, and is associated with deforestation. The UK therefore needs to increase feed production resilience to move fish and poultry production towards a sustainable and productive future.
A new project led by Entec Nutrition – set up by two University of Exeter scientists – has won a £250,000 grant from the Innovate UK’s “transforming food production” scheme to explore the science behind insect-based feeds.
The team, which includes food research organisation Campden BRI, will work on efficient insect production for the poultry and aquaculture (fish farming) industries.
said Dr Olivia Champion, who co-founded Entec Nutrition with University of Exeter colleague Professor Richard Titball, said: “We are thrilled to have won this Innovate UK grant with our research partners. It’s really exciting for Entec Nutrition to form part of the UK’s clean innovation solutions to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
“The funding will allow us to explore methods for low-energy production of insects to lower the cost of production and the environmental impact of the feed industry.”
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