Insect food processing proves to be more efficient and beneficial for the environment than other meat processing

July 25, 2020   8:14am IST Source

    Amidst the hatred for locusts in India, Dror Tamir, the Israeli entrepreneur, CEO, and Co-founder of Hargol FoodTech set up the world’s only grasshopper commercial farm. The company rears 20 tonnes of locusts annually in their 1,000 sq meters production unit and turns the insects into energy bars. Tamir used the term “Biblical Protein” as an easy clickbait due to the mention of potent locust-protein in The Bible.

Initially, the company was started with 20 grasshopper varieties, but soon it was realized that out of them only 4 are viable. Today, inside his farm, millions of grasshoppers feed on wheatgrass and are later harvested to be dried and turned into energy bars in different flavors.

Although locusts are available for a very short duration of the year, in Tamir’s farm, grasshoppers grow throughout the year. This does not have an impact on the environment and has a near-zero carbon footprint. When compared to beef, the protein-dense locusts use 1,500 times less arable land, emit 98.80% fewer greenhouse emissions, and are the finest example of near-zero waste farming.

Soon, 3 new commercial farms are to be added in 2021, and 20 more in 2022, with a plan to export to Europe and Asia.