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But where do the invertibrates get THEIR food from? Feed corn is super cheap per calorie (people sometimes burn feedcorn in stoves for heat), so it’s probably w

But where do the invertibrates get THEIR food from? Feed corn is super cheap per calorie (people sometimes burn feedcorn in stoves for heat), so it’s probably what you’d feed the invertebrates. Edit: Yup, insect farms typically use grains as the feed. Grains which you could eat directly (after baking or cooking, of course) which would be more calorically efficient. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/09/americas-cricket-farmers/406843/ https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/09/americas-...

hinkley 6y ago
I can't deny that feed corn has good shelf life (they store it outside under a tarp when the silos are full). But there are other food streams that don't necessarily pass inspection, especially for perishable foods. I know from a couple days at a food bank that cows can eat pretty bad apples, but there are badness levels that would be much safer for grubs or larvae to eat. Feed corn takes a lot of water though, and I don't know how much longer we'll have that.
- Robotbeat 6y ago
  Typically insects used for human consumption are fed grains (such as feed corn), but with a conversion efficiency making the problem worse. True that smaller operations, family farms, and homesteads could take advantage of waste streams like that, but that is kind of a logistical nightmare for feeding of large urban/suburban populations.
  - hinkley 6y ago
    We need to stop thinking we are going to fix our many many problems that we have created through a multitude of individual decisions by finding One Weird Trick. It's magic thinking, and we're supposed to be grown-ups. Whatever that means. Solutions don't have to scale infinitely. They just have to scale.
boo_boo 6y ago
> Yup, insect farms typically use grains as the feed. Grains which you could eat directly (after baking or cooking, of course) which would be more calorically efficient. Black soldier fly larvae can be fed almost any organic matter, including waste. The use of grain as feed for insect farms (which can largely be attributed to grain subsidies) doesn't imply it's the end-all energy input.

hinkley 6y ago

I can't deny that feed corn has good shelf life (they store it outside under a tarp when the silos are full). But there are other food streams that don't necessarily pass inspection, especially for perishable foods. I know from a couple days at a food bank that cows can eat pretty bad apples, but there are badness levels that would be much safer for grubs or larvae to eat. Feed corn takes a lot of water though, and I don't know how much longer we'll have that.

Robotbeat 6y ago
Typically insects used for human consumption are fed grains (such as feed corn), but with a conversion efficiency making the problem worse. True that smaller operations, family farms, and homesteads could take advantage of waste streams like that, but that is kind of a logistical nightmare for feeding of large urban/suburban populations.
- hinkley 6y ago
  We need to stop thinking we are going to fix our many many problems that we have created through a multitude of individual decisions by finding One Weird Trick. It's magic thinking, and we're supposed to be grown-ups. Whatever that means. Solutions don't have to scale infinitely. They just have to scale.

boo_boo 6y ago

> Yup, insect farms typically use grains as the feed. Grains which you could eat directly (after baking or cooking, of course) which would be more calorically efficient. Black soldier fly larvae can be fed almost any organic matter, including waste. The use of grain as feed for insect farms (which can largely be attributed to grain subsidies) doesn't imply it's the end-all energy input.