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Sustainability and Perspectives of Edible Insect Rearing and Utilization of...
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Sustainability and Perspectives of Edible Insect Rearing and Utilization of Their Products and Byproducts

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Farm Animal Production".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 May 2024 | Viewed by 11580

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Simona Errico

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
ENEA, Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, Department of Sustainability, Trisaia Research Center, I-75026 Rotondella, Italy
Interests: edible insects; novel foods; sustainability; circular economy; insects flours; alternative protein sources; products and by-products of insect rearing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The prediction that the world population will be 9 billion by 2050, widely regarded as optimistic, imposes a more responsible and sustainable use of resources and, at the same time, a search for alternative protein sources that can meet the nutritional needs of an ever-growing population hungry for healthy food. In traditional livestock farming, greater attention must be paid to the sustainability and safety of the feed provided, without neglecting food crops, both of which are representatives of specific territories and innovative ones. In all cases, the concept of sustainability must be declined in its three terms: environmental, economic and social. In this context, edible insects are a promising alternative food source due to their high nutritional value and sustainable production. In some countries, edible insect production must be made increasingly sustainable through the valorisation of waste and by-products for insect feeding as well as the valorisation of farm products. For other countries, it represents a promising prospect for direct or indirect feed and food production.

The goal of the current Special Issue is to publish high-quality scientific articles dealing with innovative solutions for edible insect rearing, as well as new perspectives on the use of rearing products and byproducts. For this reason, we invite you to submit the results of your current scientific research, in the form of original articles, communications, or reviews, on (i) conditions of edible insect rearing for animal feed production; (ii) the valorization of waste from agrifood supply chains for insects’ sustenance; (iii) the utilization of the products and byproducts of rearing, both direct and indirect; (iv) the production and utilization of flours from them both for food and feed; (v) changes in the environmental impact of insect rearing and their connection to the geographical area of their setting; and (vi) the effects of insect feeding on farmed animals, especially those intended in turn for human consumption.

Thank you for your contributions.

Dr. Simona Errico
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • edible insects
  • insect rearing
  • sustainability
  • food preferences
  • insect meals
  • alternative protein sources
  • animal feed
  • insect meal digestibility
  • waste, products and byproducts of insect rearing

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

Jump to: Review, Other

12 pages, 540 KiB  
Article
Bridging the Gap: Scaling Up the Sustainable Production of the Yellow Mealworm with Agricultural By-Products—Insights into Larval Growth and Body Composition
by Mariastela Vrontaki, Christina Adamaki-Sotiraki, Christos I. Rumbos, Anastasios Anastasiadis and Christos G. Athanassiou
Agriculture 2024, 14(4), 520; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14040520 - 25 Mar 2024
Viewed by 710
Abstract
Amidst the escalating global demand for protein-rich livestock feed, there’s an urgent call to explore innovative alternatives. Insects, renowned for their rich protein, lipid, and nutrient profiles, offer a sustainable solution. Integrating agricultural waste into insect diets emerges as a promising strategy to [...] Read more.
Amidst the escalating global demand for protein-rich livestock feed, there’s an urgent call to explore innovative alternatives. Insects, renowned for their rich protein, lipid, and nutrient profiles, offer a sustainable solution. Integrating agricultural waste into insect diets emerges as a promising strategy to alleviate rearing costs. However, large-scale investigations into by-product valorization remain limited. Thus, our study aims to evaluate Greek agricultural by-products—brewer’s spent grains, rice bran, oat and maize by-products, and animal feed mill leftovers—as potential feedstock for Tenebrio molitor larvae, an insect species that is authorized by the European Union for both livestock feed and human consumption. In this study, the larval growth and body composition were assessed in commercial trays, unveiling optimal performance with rice bran and brewer’s spent grains. Conversely, larvae fed with animal feed mill leftovers and maize by-products displayed suboptimal outcomes. These findings underscore the potential efficacy of integrating locally produced agricultural by-products into T. molitor commercial production. Such an approach not only addresses the growing demand for protein-rich livestock feed but also offers a sustainable solution to agricultural waste management. In conclusion, our research contributes valuable insights towards developing economically viable insect farming. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Perspectives of Edible Insect Rearing and Utilization of Their Products and Byproducts)
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18 pages, 1149 KiB  
Article
Inclusion of Dried Black Soldier Fly Larvae in Free-Range Laying Hen Diets: Effects on Production Efficiency, Feed Safety, Blood Metabolites, and Hen Health
by Masoumeh Bejaei and Kimberly M. Cheng
Agriculture 2024, 14(1), 31; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14010031 - 23 Dec 2023
Viewed by 1001
Abstract
Identifying alternative feedstuffs to replace conventional nutrient sources in poultry diets is crucial to supplying the growing demand for animal feed. A 17-week-long feeding experiment with three diets, including 0% (control), 10%, and 18% full-fat dried black soldier fly larvae (DBSFL), was conducted [...] Read more.
Identifying alternative feedstuffs to replace conventional nutrient sources in poultry diets is crucial to supplying the growing demand for animal feed. A 17-week-long feeding experiment with three diets, including 0% (control), 10%, and 18% full-fat dried black soldier fly larvae (DBSFL), was conducted to evaluate the production efficiency and feed safety of using the larvae for partial (50%) and full (100%) substitutions of soybean meal and 90% replacement of soybean oil in free-range laying hen diets. Thirty hens (18–36 weeks old) were housed in two mobile poultry trailers per treatment level. The weight gain of hens, their feed intake, egg production, egg weights, feed conversion ratios, bird welfare parameters, hematology and blood metabolites, fecal microbiology, and digestive tract weights were examined. Control hens had higher weight gains, laid more and bigger eggs while consuming less feed, and had lower feed conversion ratios than 18% DBSFL hens. However, the production performances of 10% DBSFL hens were not significantly different from the control in many of the parameters considered (e.g., hen-day egg production or HDEP). In conclusion, partial replacement of soybean meal and oil with DBSFL in layer diets maintains production efficiency, feed safety, and hen health and welfare status. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Perspectives of Edible Insect Rearing and Utilization of Their Products and Byproducts)
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12 pages, 1928 KiB  
Article
Prickly Pear Cladodes as an Alternative Source of Water in Small- and Medium-Scale Yellow Mealworm Rearing
by Simona Errico, Paola Sangiorgio, Stefania Moliterni, Alessandra Verardi, Anna Spagnoletta, Salvatore Dimatteo and Ferdinando Baldacchino
Agriculture 2023, 13(7), 1435; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13071435 - 20 Jul 2023
Viewed by 930
Abstract
New solutions are compulsorily needed to reconcile the enormous and ever-growing request for protein for human nutrition and, at the same time, reduce conventional meat production. This epochal challenge can find a valuable aid to a winning solution in insect rearing. The use [...] Read more.
New solutions are compulsorily needed to reconcile the enormous and ever-growing request for protein for human nutrition and, at the same time, reduce conventional meat production. This epochal challenge can find a valuable aid to a winning solution in insect rearing. The use of insects as feed and food, far from being a definitive solution to global food shortages, can offer new protein sources and perfectly fit circular economy precepts, yet more so when insects feed on by-products from the agri-food industry. In this scenario, Tenebrio molitor (TM) is a concrete alternative. Therefore, making its rearing more sustainable is a prime objective. In this paper, we evaluated the possibility of replacing usual plant sources of wet supplementation used in TM rearing with sustainable alternatives, including the cladodes of prickly pear (Opuntias ficus indica, OFI), to reduce the frequency of administration, thus minimizing related labor costs. The alternatives were tested for water content, dehydration, and shelf life to select the best-performing ones. On the selected matrices, we evaluated the preference of the larvae and their palatability because a matrix may be convenient and sustainable but not appreciated by consumers. The results showed that OFI cladodes have high moisture and a long shelf life and are appreciated by the larvae that prefer them to other matrices. Thus, OFI can replace the conventional wet source in TM rearing, at least in areas where this cactus grows wild and is not difficult to obtain. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Perspectives of Edible Insect Rearing and Utilization of Their Products and Byproducts)
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Review

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26 pages, 900 KiB  
Review
Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae): Need, Potentiality, and Performance Measures
by Anjani Nayak, Martin Rühl and Patrick Klüber
Agriculture 2024, 14(1), 8; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14010008 - 20 Dec 2023
Viewed by 1699
Abstract
The research on black soldier fly (BSF; Hermetia illucens L.; Diptera: Stratiomyidae) rearing is on the rise. The larval ability to grow on organic substances makes it an ideal candidate for the bioconversion of agricultural and other organic side streams. While there are [...] Read more.
The research on black soldier fly (BSF; Hermetia illucens L.; Diptera: Stratiomyidae) rearing is on the rise. The larval ability to grow on organic substances makes it an ideal candidate for the bioconversion of agricultural and other organic side streams. While there are several publications on the variables influencing the growth and development of different stages of BSF, juxtaposing the results could be amiss. This is because of the different experimental approaches and units used by the researchers. A few publications also lack information that might be necessary for comparing the results when using similar substrate and rearing conditions. In this review, we have analyzed the studies on rearing variables such as the type of feeding substrate, substrate depth and aeration, substrate temperature, substrate moisture, pH, feeding rate, and larval density mainly, but not exclusively, for the larvae. For the adults, factors such as the cage size, fly density, light, ambient temperature, and relative humidity are considered. In addition, larval performance when fed with side streams is encapsulated. This provides a backbone for future researchers to identify the already assessed variables along with their range and encourages them to define and use standardized rearing practices for a better comparison of the results. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Perspectives of Edible Insect Rearing and Utilization of Their Products and Byproducts)
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13 pages, 717 KiB  
Review
Silkworm Bombyx mori—Sustainability and Economic Opportunity, Particularly for Romania
by Mihaela Hăbeanu, Anca Gheorghe and Teodor Mihalcea
Agriculture 2023, 13(6), 1209; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13061209 - 07 Jun 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4760
Abstract
The main concerns and challenges of raising silkworms include economic value, mulberry management, biodiversity conservation of genetic resources, and developing highly productive breeds for genetic variety. This study investigated the relationship between the economic relevance of the products generated throughout the value chain, [...] Read more.
The main concerns and challenges of raising silkworms include economic value, mulberry management, biodiversity conservation of genetic resources, and developing highly productive breeds for genetic variety. This study investigated the relationship between the economic relevance of the products generated throughout the value chain, limitations, and opportunities to generate incomes for sericulture farmers, trends, and perspectives worldwide, particularly in Romania. Seventy-seven publications were considered from online databases. The diversification of products generated at each level of the value chain of silkworm rearing and their multipurpose applications impact social and economic life. Hence, silk is well known as a valuable biomaterial for industry, suitable for textile and medicine. There are several arguments to use silkworms in human food even though they are not yet authorized as edible insects at the European level. Thus, as a nutrient-rich by-product, silkworm pupae (extract, cakes, and oil) have medicinal properties and can be used for human and animal nutrition. Sericin, silk fibroin, and chitin are bioactive compounds in cocoons and pupae with pharmacological implications and drug composition, while biomass is suitable for biodiesel and excreta for compost. The farmers’ attitudes and mentality associated with political circumstances influence the perspectives for the sericulture field. Due to the high likelihood of using their products, small-medium-scale farmers might benefit sericulture by identifying new sales marketplaces and finding new beneficiaries for directing their multiple products. The funds allotted by government subventions for supporting this fascinating activity and opportunities for jobs may aid in encouraging to start of a new sericulture business or to contribute developing the existing one. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Perspectives of Edible Insect Rearing and Utilization of Their Products and Byproducts)
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Other

Jump to: Research, Review

24 pages, 1207 KiB  
Systematic Review
Cultivation of Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) Larvae for the Valorization of Spent Coffee Ground: A Systematic Review and Bibliometric Study
by Donald John Calvien Hutabarat and Dave Mangindaan
Agriculture 2024, 14(2), 205; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14020205 - 27 Jan 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1701
Abstract
The global surge in coffee consumption has led to the generation of significant amounts of spent coffee grounds (SCG), a by-product of the brewing process. If it is left unprocessed in the landfill, it will generate methane, one of the greenhouse gases, and [...] Read more.
The global surge in coffee consumption has led to the generation of significant amounts of spent coffee grounds (SCG), a by-product of the brewing process. If it is left unprocessed in the landfill, it will generate methane, one of the greenhouse gases, and therefore accelerate global warming. The intersection of SCG and its potential as a substrate for black soldier fly (BSF) larvae cultivation as one of the pathways for processing SCG becomes intriguing as we seek sustainable waste management solutions. The combination of both nutrition and toxic alkaloids (caffeine) makes SCG and/or other coffee parts intriguing for recycling (or upcycling) via BSF cultivation to generate insect protein. Due to its remarkable capacity to bioconvert organic waste into high-value proteins and fats, the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens, has garnered attention in waste management and animal feed production. This comprehensive review sheds light on the recent development of using SCG as a substrate for BSF larvae. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Perspectives of Edible Insect Rearing and Utilization of Their Products and Byproducts)
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Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

Title: A multidisciplinary approach for the development of a supply chain in biomass conversion mediated by larvae of Hermetia illucens L.: from rearing to by-product exploitation in the Hermes project.
Authors: E. De Santis; A. De Iudicibus; F. Lecce; M. De Mei; F. Petrazzuolo; A. Assirelli; C. Beni; A. Del Giudice; F. Gallucci; M. Carnevale; E. Santangelo; S. Arnone
Affiliation: 1 - Energy Technologies and Renewable Sources Department; 2 - Department of Sustainability ENEA CR Casaccia Via Anguillarese 301, 00123 Santa Maria di Galeria (Rome, Italy); 3 - CREA Research Centre for Engineering and Agro-Food Processing, Via della Pascolare 16, 00015 Monterotondo (Rome, Italy)

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