Called “mini-livestock,” insects have a very high “feed conversion efficiency”; they need fewer resources to produce calories for us, partly because they’re cold blooded. On average, they require two kilograms of feed to produce one kilogram of mass, compared to an 8:1 ratio for cattle — and remember we only eat about 40 percent of a cow — plus they need a tiny fraction of the water(1). They also produce anywhere from 10 to 100 times less methane than pigs, they mature from egg to adult in just seven weeks, and they can thrive on human and animal waste for food.
