By Dorte Larsen, AAU Communication and Public Affairs
Photo: Emil Kragborg Eriksen

Insects have a high protein content, an ideal amino acid profile, and can be farmed with a significantly lower climate footprint than traditional livestock. As such, insects may become part of the solution to the global challenges we face in ensuring sufficient food for a growing world population.

That’s the view of Associate Professor Simon Bahrndorff, who sees insects as a key to future food production.

At the Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Simon Bahrndorff conducts research on how insects adapt to extreme environments – from the Arctic to waste containers – and how their symbiosis with bacteria enables them to survive on residual and waste products.

It is precisely this ability that makes insects relevant in the fight against climate change and food insecurity.

A growing – and troubled – world

By 2050, the global population is expected to reach 10 billion. To feed everyone, agricultural production must increase by approximately 70 percent, resulting in a greater demand for animal protein sources, such as chicken, pork, and beef. At the same time, agriculture accounts for a large share of the world’s climate and 

Efficient and Climate-Friendly Production

Insects can efficiently convert residual and waste products, thanks in part to the bacteria living in their guts. These bacteria enable insects to utilize and survive on waste materials effectively.

Using genome sequencing and enzyme treatment, Simon Bahrndorff and his colleagues are working to improve insects’ ability to process waste products while ensuring that the end product is healthy and safe.

Insect Farming – From Pig Manure to Insect Meal

Simon states:

“It’s a definite YES from me to the question of whether it’s possible to convert livestock manure into healthy food. I envision a future where, for example, manure can be transformed into animal feed and food. We need to think differently, and we have technological solutions to eliminate potential pathogenic bacteria. But legislation and research in the field are falling behind. Today, for instance, we’re only allowed to use a few insect species and a limited selection of residual products as feed,” says Bahrndorff.

Imagine this future scenario: A pig farm where the slurry doesn’t end up on fields but in a nearby facility where it’s used to cultivate insect larvae. The larvae become protein-rich feed for pigs, while the by-products of insect production can be used as fertilizer or in biogas plants. In this way, we could build a more circular food production system.

Disease Transmission – and Solutions

One of the major concerns from the food industry regarding the use of insects is the risk that they may carry pathogenic bacteria. But Simon Bahrndorff’s research shows that the microbiome – the bacteria in insects’ guts – can be controlled and optimized. By sequencing bacterial genes and influencing the microbiome with enzymes, phages, or beneficial bacteria, it’s possible to both increase the efficiency of insect production and ensure its safety.

“We’re working to understand which bacteria make insects efficient and which ones we should avoid. It’s fundamental research, but it’s the foundation for producing food safely and sustainably,” says Bahrndorff.

Circular Food Production with Insects

One of the remarkable things about the many insect species is that we can almost always find one that can be farmed on a given residual or waste product. Insects could play a central role in circular food production, for example, by linking aquaculture and agriculture more closely.

“We’re looking toward a future where we can farm insects on residual and waste products from agriculture. These insects can then be used as feed in aquaculture. Conversely, we could utilize residual and waste products from the sea to cultivate insects that can be used in agricultural production.

This illustrates a more circular food production system, where we reduce and utilize waste from both the sea and agriculture more efficiently – and insects could play a central role in this,” Simon Bahrndorff concludes.