An Exploration on Greenhouse Gas and Ammonia Production by Insect Species Suitable for Animal or Human Consumption
Top Cited Papers
Open Access
- 29 December 2010
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Public Library of Science (PLoS) in PLOS ONE
- Vol. 5 (12), e14445
- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0014445
Abstract
Greenhouse gas (GHG) production, as a cause of climate change, is considered as one of the biggest problems society is currently facing. The livestock sector is one of the large contributors of anthropogenic GHG emissions. Also, large amounts of ammonia (NH3), leading to soil nitrification and acidification, are produced by livestock. Therefore other sources of animal protein, like edible insects, are currently being considered. An experiment was conducted to quantify production of carbon dioxide (CO2) and average daily gain (ADG) as a measure of feed conversion efficiency, and to quantify the production of the greenhouse gases methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) as well as NH3 by five insect species of which the first three are considered edible: Tenebrio molitor, Acheta domesticus, Locusta migratoria, Pachnoda marginata, and Blaptica dubia. Large differences were found among the species regarding their production of CO2 and GHGs. The insects in this study had a higher relative growth rate and emitted comparable or lower amounts of GHG than described in literature for pigs and much lower amounts of GHG than cattle. The same was true for CO2 production per kg of metabolic weight and per kg of mass gain. Furthermore, also the production of NH3 by insects was lower than for conventional livestock. This study therefore indicates that insects could serve as a more environmentally friendly alternative for the production of animal protein with respect to GHG and NH3 emissions. The results of this study can be used as basic information to compare the production of insects with conventional livestock by means of a life cycle analysis.Keywords
This publication has 50 references indexed in Scilit:
- Salmonella in Broiler Litter and Properties of Soil at Farm LocationPLOS ONE, 2009
- Review of ammonia emission factors for United States animal agricultureAtmospheric Environment, 2008
- Environmental Health Impacts of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations: Anticipating Hazards—Searching for SolutionsEnvironmental Health Perspectives, 2007
- SE—Structure and Environment: Validation of Ventilation Rate Measurement Methods and the Ammonia Emission from Naturally Ventilated Dairy and Beef Buildings in the United KingdomJournal of Agricultural Engineering Research, 2001
- Concentrations and Emissions of Ammonia in Livestock Buildings in Northern EuropeJournal of Agricultural Engineering Research, 1998
- The need for an increased use of small and mini‐livestock in integrated smallholder farming systems1Ecology of Food and Nutrition, 1997
- Concentrations and emission rates of aerial ammonia, nitrous oxide, methane, carbon dioxide, dust and endotoxin in UK broiler and layer housesBritish Poultry Science, 1997
- Ammonia Emission Patterns during the Growing Periods of Pigs Housed on Partially Slatted FloorsJournal of Agricultural Engineering Research, 1995
- Oxygen consumption of active and inactive adult tiger beetlesPhysiological Entomology, 1986
- Energy metabolism and body size I. Is the 0.75 mass exponent of Kleiber's equation a statistical artifact?Respiration Physiology, 1982