A systems thinking approach for assessing the environmental impacts of insect production for organic waste nutriet recycling
- Authors
- Ponce Jara, Kevin Leonardo
- Format
- MasterThesis
- Status
- publishedVersion
- Description
Insect rearing on organic waste has been proposed as a means for addressing interconnected global environmental, food security, and waste management issues. The process utilizes the natural ability of many insect species for consuming different types of organic waste, which is transformed into nutrient rich insect biomass. In this manner, organic waste nutrients are recycled back into the food chain, environmental impacts of organic waste disposal are reduced, and food resources are free for human consumption or as animal feed. However, there are multiple factors and context specific determinants that can influence the environmental impacts of insect production. This literature review explores the scientific evidence and arguments supporting environmental sustainability claims of insect production on organic waste using a systems thinking approach. In addition, the environmental potential of insect production technologies (IPTs) within low income countries and high income countries (LMICs) are discussed. Overall, the environmental impacts of insect production are supported by life cycle assessment literature in terms of land use, but resource utilization impacts may vary according to context specific factors. Nevertheless, the ability and versatility of many insect species for consuming multiple and diverse sources of organic waste offer a promising and viable mechanism for recycling organic waste nutrients, especially in low income countries (LCIs) with low financial and infrastructure resources.
- Publication Year
- 2015
- Language
- eng
- Topic
- APPLIED ENTOMOLOGY
FOOD SCIENCE
WASTE MANAGEMENT
ORGANIC WASTE RECYCLING
INSECT BASED FEED
- Repository
- Repositorio SENESCYT
- Rights
- openAccess
- License