A 60–70 percent increase in consumption of animal products is expected by 2050. This increase in the consumption will demand enormous resources, with feed being the most challenging because of the limited availability of natural resources, ongoing climatic changes and food–feed–fuel competition. The costs of conventional feed resources such as soymeal and fishmeal are very high, and their availability in the future will be limited.
Insect rearing could be a part of the solution. Although some studies have been conducted on evaluation of insects, insect larvae or insect meals as an ingredient in the diets of some animal species, this field is in infancy. Here we collate, synthesize and discuss the available information on five major insect species studied with respect to evaluation of their products as animal feed.