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| Insects favor plant-based food, which keeps them from relying on the sugar-fat-grease disaster of human diets. Nutrition experts are divided. |
A 2021 report from Rabobank noted that “the demand for insect protein, mainly as an animal feed and pet food ingredient, could reach half a million metric tons by 2030, up from today’s market of approximately 10,000 metric tons.” That year, Mars launched a line of cat food made from insects, called LoveBug.
The Springdale, Arkansas-based Tyson doesn’t make pet food, but it does sell its animal byproducts for use in the pet food and aquaculture market, which feeds fish, the CFO said. Byproducts like animal fats, hides and inedible proteins, if not used or reduced, can end up in landfills. In this case, Tyson can send what’s in the stomach of cattle it has processed to a Protix facility, where it’s fed to insects. For the company, creating a larger market for this type of waste can not only reduce waste but offer a larger revenue stream.
