I agree with your points - each step of processing feed material leaks some of the efficiencies gained by harvesting at lower levels. Generally the benefits fro

I agree with your points - each step of processing feed material leaks some of the efficiencies gained by harvesting at lower levels. Generally the benefits from chaining production come from the lower level consuming the waste products of the higher level, like fertilizing aquatic plants with fish waste. Where insects could make a big difference is replacing more expensive or less effective inputs into higher-level products, ideally commodities. For example, if we could produce breads using crickets that have higher caloric densities for the same price that would be a huge global win. We're not there yet though.