D3020: Agricultural entomophagy: Insect rearing for human consumption and feed

As the human population grows, it is very important to sustain rather than increase the levels of consumption. Scientists are struggling to find alternative ways to feed the ever-increasing population. Current sources of protein are not sustainable. Half of the world's habitable land is used for agriculture. More than three-quarters of this is used for livestock production. Insects require 10 to 50% less of the amount of water than other animals use for food and land per pound of protein. Insects utilize less energy, feed, land and water than livestock; therefore, contributing less to climate change and pollution. Developing and evaluating protein extract made from mealworms and crickets will aid food companies in their goal to add higher levels of insect protein to products without adding fat, calories or negatively affecting product quality. Our objectives are 1. Determine the optimum density and temperature for rearing edible insects, and 2. To study feed optimization by adding Cannabidiol (CBD) to the diet of the edible crickets, Gryllodes sigillatus (Banded Cricket). As the density of the crickets and temperature increase, the wellbeing of the insects significantly reduces. The optimum density seems to be 66/crickets per container (13.63 in. x 8.25 in. x 4.88 in.) at either 75° F and 85° F growth chambers. The preliminary result on the CBD diet revealed that insects fed with 500 mg CBD oil-treated showed increased and reduced mortality. Further research is underway on the level of CBD on cooked crickets and the optimization of the diet.