Edible insect protein as pet food

Eco-friendly pet owners are turning to edible insects as an alternative food source for their pets. 

Experts suggest that there are numerous benefits to feeding edible insects to pets. 

Firstly, environmental benefits include the following: 

- Edible insects contain a lot of protein whereas farmed species and animal meat contain high fats, oils, mineral and vitamin levels 

- According to the University of California at Davis, a single cow raised for meat produces around 220 pounds of methane gas each year. Such mass production of methane gas in the process of farming contribute to the emission of greenhouse gases. On the contrary, insect farming (an edible insect) produce lower rates of methane. For instance, crickets (edible insect) produces less than one percent of the greenhouse gas that cows produce. 

- Due to the fact that insects require less space for farming, it is possible to use less land whilst still creating similar rates of nutritious food. This helps to reduce carbon footprints whilst still sustaining the nutritiously valuable aspect of edible insects. 

Because more and more pet owners, who have an eco-friendly mindset, are searching for edible insects, there have been an increase in the number of companies that provide edible insect as pet foods. For instance, Jiminy's is one of the first companies to add powdered cricket protein to dog foods and treats. They continue to promote the consumption of edible insects for dogs by claiming that insect protein is great for dogs with food allergies, a well balanced approach for the dogs' diet and is free of the pathogens that plague the meat industry. 

After seeing that edible insect protein has become a business model for pets, I was very intrigued by the idea that edible insects are not only seen as an alternative food source for humans but also for our beloved pets as well. In the future, as a member of the ECOSAVE club, I hope to be able to promote the implementation of edible insect protein in pet foods in my local community as through research, I have found that there aren't many edible insect pet foods in Korea. 

Written by Ella Hong