INSECT GROWING PODS - THE NEXT KITCHEN APPLIANCE?

What is it?

Entomophagy has received much attention in the past decade, yet it is still patiently waiting to reach breakthroughs in the establishment within western culture and cuisine. The ever-so understandable ‘yuck-factor’ that exists when it comes to eating insects is a hard barrier to break down. With numerous initiatives worldwide trying to convey the message that eating insects comes with many benefits for health, global malnutrition, and especially its contribution to fighting climate change, its long-term potential is near infinite. Due to limited accessibility of and attention towards innovative insect-based products, such as cricket burgers, grasshopper tacos and nachos, mealworm flower, and countless other so-called ‘entopreneurial’ concoctions, the entomophagy industry is not growing as fast as it perhaps should.

A new product brought to kickstarter by BeoBia may have found a solution to spark more interest in entomophagy by creating a sustainable insect growing pod that can create a more circular economy within your own home. The growing pod, named ‘Re_’, offers a solution to the production of your own protein anywhere in your home by raising your own,delicious, almond-tasting mealworms. The mealworms require nothing more than your own fruit and vegetable waste, making it a truly sustainable production cycle. Furthermore, the frass (mealworm feces) that is produced by the insects during their life cycle can be used as your own plant fertiliser, allowing for all inputs and outputs to come to good use.

Why it’s Cool?

• The first initiative to bring insect production to your own home! This stylishly designed pod can be placed anywhere in your kitchen or pantry and provides a healthy and delicious addition to your home-cooking.
• Using ‘Re_’ creates a circular agrofood system by efficiently recycling your own food waste into a new, sustainable protein source. It contributes to reducing your carbon footprint, water consumption, and will even offer natural fertilisation for your houseplants or herb garden.
• By incorporating insect production into home-kitchens, users can establish a new relationship with edible insects and rethink their view towards protein. ‘Re_’ empowers you to create a continuous supply of sustainable protein and will provide an opportunity for everyone to be part of the entomophagy revolution, set to grow throughout the 2020s.

Why it has future growth potential?

In this time of food-enlightenment, where it is becoming increasingly important for consumers to become more self-sufficient, environmentally friendly, and experimental, entomophagy poses an incredible opportunity for Western cultures to reduce their pressure on the global food supply chain. By effectively cutting down on carbon emissions and saving incredible amounts of water, next to the reduction of food waste, eating insects poses the potential opportunity of a lifetime for taking yet another step towards reversing climate change. Being able to actively participate in this process by growing your own protein source from the comfort of your home is another sustainable practice that can be incorporated into everyone’s life.