We, the undersigned, are researchers and entrepreneurs affiliated

18 May 2015
To Whom It May Concern:
We, the undersigned, are researchers and entrepreneurs affiliated with universities and industries,
respectively, from 18 nations distributed across North, and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and
Australia. Evidence has accrued over the past 30 years that provides strong support and justification for the
sustainable use of insects as a means to produce protein for use as feed for pets, livestock, poultry, and aquacultured
species.
Securing resources to provide protein needed to sustain the projected human population is a top priority
of most governments1. Estimated population growth from 2005 to 2050 indicates global food demand to increase
by 100%2, while agricultural production is projected to increase only by 60%3. The increase of global production of
specific agricultural commodities will fall substantially short of what is needed to meet projected demands in 2050
(approximately 67%, 42%, 38%, and 55%, for maize, rice, wheat and soybean, respectively)4. The global inability to
sustain the necessary food production will emanate in increased duress of approximately 805 million undernourished
people living in developing countries3,5, which could lead to greater risk of local, national and global disease6.
Increasing crop production only represents a short-term solution and has been anticipated to negatively
impact the environment on a large scale. For instance, nitrogen and phosphorus use is expected to increase by
300% due to increases in crop production, which will impact freshwater and marine ecosystems and possibly
lowering water quality in areas of the world where it is currently scarce or impaired. This increase in crop
production translates directly into losses in biodiversity, outbreaks of nuisance pests, and reduction of fishery
production7. Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, forestry and other land use activities could increase 30%
by 20508 impacting our air quality and contributing to global climate change9.
Aquaculture is the fastest-growing animal food-producing sector globally10 where production from both
aquaculture and wild-capture will exceed that of beef, pork or poultry within the next decade alone11. Fish are
harvested from international waters to produce fishmeal, which is used as feed in the aquaculture and livestock
industry. In 2010, aquaculture utilized 73% of fishmeal and 71% of fish oil produced3. However, international
fisheries are being over-exploited and current practices are not sustainable, which is evident as current production of
fishmeal and fish oil has decreased from 30.2 million tons (live weight) in 1994 to 16.3 tons in 20123. Alternate
sources of protein are therefore urgently needed to sustain the aquaculture industry.
The black soldier fly (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) represents one example of many insect species (e.g., house
fly, mealworm, cricket) that can be used for producing protein for use as livestock and fish feed and human
food with no known harm to the environment or people. This insect is able to convert organic by-products, such
as food (~1.3 billion tons produced globally on an annual basis and under-utilized as a sustainable resource12, which
is valued at 750 billion US$13). This insect, like many others, can also be used to recycle livestock waste, which is a
concern for pollution as well14. It transforms ~50% dry matter of these organic side streams into insect biomass with
a high protein value14. This insect is not a pest and is known to suppress many pathogens of people and livestock.
Furthermore, tons of this insect can be potentially produced daily in limited space and non-mechanized harvesting,
which is important in developing nations of the world that rely heavily on human labor and have limited
technological resources. We also know that the black soldier fly can successfully replace approximately 50% of the
fishmeal used to produce rainbow trout15, and is a suitable replacement feed for catfish, tilapia16, and outside of
aquaculture- chickens17 and swine18. Presently, resources are needed through government agencies to conduct the
necessary research to address concerns over food safety, optimal production, and utilization of protein resulting from
insect farming.
We are reaching out to your agency to open up lines of communication on how to develop sustainable
methods for protein production through insect farming. We hope that your agency will consider joining us
through discussions on how to create opportunities to conduct research on this topic, educate our legislators, and
create momentum resulting in a cultural shift leading to legislative changes allowing for the use of such a
sustainable resource to be explored and ultimately implemented. Application of insect farming for protein
production would facilitate a means of supplying the materials needed for the production of pet, livestock, poultry
and aquaculture feed and human food. In turn, such resources will allow us to face the challenges of a growing
global population. Insects as feed and food have great promise as a new agricultural sector, but are in need of a
political and regulatory environment conducive for their use. Your agency can be of great help in realizing its
potential to assure food security.
Sincerely,
Jeffery K. Tomberlin
Associate Professor
Department of Entomology
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas, USA
Arnold Van Huis, PhD
Wageningen, The Netherlands
M. Eric Benbow
Assistant Professor
Department of Entomology & Department of
Osteopathic Medicine
Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan, USA
Heather Jordan
Assistant Professor
Department of Biology
Mississippi State University
Starkville, Mississippi, USA
Dewi Apri Astuti
Professor
Department of Animal Nutrition
Bogor Agricultural University
Bogor, Indonesia
Domenico Azzonllini
Ph.D. Student
Department of Sciences of Agriculture, Food
and Environment
University of Foggia
Foggia, Italy
Ian Banks
Research Scientist
AgriProtein, Inc.
Cape Town, South Africa
Vittorio Bava
Founder & CEO - Diptera srl
Manfredonia, Italy
Christian Borgemeister
Professor
Center for Development Research
University of Bonn
Bonn, Germany
Jonathan A. Cammack
Postdoctoral Associate
Department of Entomology
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas, USA
Robert S. Chapkin
Distinguished Professor
Center for Translational Environmental Health
Research
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas, USA
Helena Čičková
Researcher
Institute of Zoology
Slovak Academy of Sciences
Bratislava, Slovakia
Tawni L. Crippen
Research Scientist
Agricultural Research Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture
College Station, Texas, USA
Ana Day
4Ento
Pully, Switzerland
Henk van Deventer
Researcher
Food Processing at TNO
Zeist, The Netherlands
Marcel Dicke
Researcher
Wageningen University
Laboratory of Entomology
Wageningen, The Netherlands
Stefan Diener
Researcher
Water and Sanitation Development
EAWAG
Zürich, Switzerland
David Drew
President
AgriProtein, Inc.
Cape Town, South Africa
Cristian Emhart
CEO
F4F
Puerto Varas, Chile
Michelle Epstein
Researcher
Department of Dermatology DIAID
Medical University of Vienna
Vienna, Austria
Urs Fanger
Entomos AG
Grossdietwil, Switzerland
Mark Finke
Rio Verde, Arizona, USA
Christian Holst Fischer
Consultant
Life Science
Danish Technological Institute
Aarhus, Denmark
Delbert Gatlin
Professor and Associate Department Head
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas, USA
Nils Th. Grabowski
Researcher
Institute of Food Qaulity and Food Safety
University of Veterinary Medicine
Hannover, Germany
Richou Han
Professor
Guangdong Entomological Institute
Guangzhou, P.R. China
Chao He
President
Wuhan Chaotuo Ecological Agriculture Co., LTD
Wuhan, P.R. China
Lars Heckmann
Consultant
Life Science
Danish Technological Institute
Aarhus, Denmark
Antoine Hubert
Jenny Joseph
International Platform of Insects for Food and Feed The Bug Shack
Brussels, Belgium
University of Southampton
Southampton, United Kingdom
Samir Kumar Khanal
Associate Professor
Department of Molecular Biosciences and
Bioengineering
University of Hawai’i at Manoa
Honolulu, Hawai’i, USA
Günter Klein
Professor
Institute of Food Qaulity and Food Safety
University of Veterinary Medicine
Hannover, Germany
Addison Lawrence
Professor
Fisheries and Mariculture
Texas A&M University at Corpus Cristi
Corpus Cristi, Texas, USA
Jean-François Kleinfinger
NextAlim
Chasseneuil, France
Claire Leach
Midas Meal
2014 Myer Innovation Fellow
Melbourne, Australia
Yusheng Liu
Professor
College of Plant Protection
Shandong Agricultural University
Taian, P.R. China
Alfredo Llecha
White Oak Pastures
Bluffton, Georgia, USA
G. Larry Newton
Professor
Formerly: Animal and Dairy Sciences
University of Georgia
Tifton, Georgia, USA
Currently: Private Consultant
Robert Olivier
President
Prota Culture, LLC
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
Jennifer Pechal
Assistant Professor, Fixed Term
Department of Entomology
Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan, USA
Christine J. Picard
Assistant Professor
Department of Biology
Indiana University-Purdue University,
Indianapolis
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Elsje Pieterse
Senior Lecturer
Department of Animal Sciences
Faculty of Agrisciences
Stellenbosche University
Stellenbosche, South Africa
Santos Rojo
Director
Department of Environmental Sciences and
Natural Resources
University of Alicante
Alicante, Spain
Alessandra Roncarati
Deputy Director
School of Bioscience and Veterinary Medicine
Camerino University
Matelica, Italy
Craig Sheppard
Emeritus Professor
Department of Entomology
University of Georgia
Tifton, Georgia, USA
Andreas Stamer
Insect Protein Research
Department of Animal Sciences
Research Institute of Organic Agriculture
Frick, Switzerland
Katharina Unger
Master of Industrial Design
Livin Studio E.U.
Vienna, Austria
Hong Kong, S.A.R. China
Aaron M. Tarone
Assistant Professor
Department of Entomology
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas, USA
Bart M. Verstappen
Research Project Coordinator
Eawag/Sandec-Switzerland
Sidoarjo, Jawa Timur Indonesia
Andrew Vickerson
Enterra Feed Corp
Vancouver, Canada
Hong Yang
Professor
School of Life Sciences
Central China Normal University
Wuhan, P.R. China
Alan Yen
Associate Professor
School of Applied Systems Biology
La Trobe University
Victoria, Australia
Ziniu Yu
Professor
College of Life Science and Technology
Huazhong Agricultural University
Wuhan City, P.R. China
Jibin Zhang
Professor
College of Life Science and Technology
Huazhong Agricultural University
Wuhan City, P.R. China
ZhiJian Zhang, PhD.
Associate Professor, Biotechnology/Microbial
Ecology/Biogeochemistry
Director, Research Center of Water and
Watershed Sustainability
China Academy of West Region Development
ZheJiang University
HangZhou, P.R. ChinaUSA
Longyu Zheng
Associate Professor
College of Life Science and Technology
Huazhong Agricultural University
Wuhan City, P.R. China
Wu Zheng
President
Xian JM Green Technology
Xian, P.R. China
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