Prelude to my new insect world
It is amazing how life twists and turns.
After all of my comings and goings, I find myself drawn to those simple pleasures of my youth.
The parts of me that I considered childish are the parts of me that shine the brightest now.
Loving ants as a kid, the enjoyment of working in industrial environments and keeping life a bit simpler.
Is this the lesson to be learnt. The, "follow your dreams", kind of pitch.
Maybe, or more like, this is fun - let's do more of that.
After my redundancy, I felt a little be lost. Every job advert relating to my previous role just gave me a fuzzy sort of PTSD, with pain in my neck at the thought of dealing in a toxic environment.
My Entrepreneur zest was sort of there, but sort of not, and Covid cemeted the fact that establishing anything was not possible - mainly due to my lack of motivation or idea formulation.
Black Soldier Fly (common acronym BSF & BSFL)
Hermetia illucens is a very well researched insect in the recycling/insect protein world.
I'd actually not know about it apart from the awesome information provided by https://thelittlewormfarm.com/en#intro from our own @quochuy.
The Black Soldier Fly is a fly that looks like a wasp, can't fly for shit and has a 40-odd day life cycle.
The eggs are laid in abundance (200-1000/fly) and is used to break down waste streams into organic compost. The larvae can be used as a hyperallergenic protein source which is really good for petfood. It has a high protein content (40%) and calcium source (2%) with the balance made up of fats/oils.
Their chitin (body shell or "ash" component) is great for soil and can act as a biofoul to deter other pests.
The oil of the BSFL can be used in biopharmaceutical applications and a versatile protein ingredient.
The larvae is resilient, grow rapidly, eats all sorts of shit, including shit, and don't spread disease.
Normal flies contaminate because of landing on things & eating. Whereas, the BSF only sips sweet water in adult stage & doesn't eat. This makes them ideal for larger scale rearing.
So, be prepared to see more of the BSF in your Recycling Programs & store shelves.
(Random Google image search)
A viable system to create a loop in our recycling. Food waste can be broken down into Frass which contains Potassium & Nitrate!
Phosphate
Did you know that Phosphate is mined? It is a scarce resource.
Agriculture relies on it, and yet, much of it runs into our rivers and oceans, making it a single use resource.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/06/phosphate-fertiliser-crisis-threatens-world-food-supply
"Researchers say humanity could only produce half the food it does without phosphate and nitrogen, though the latter is essentially limitless as it makes up almost 80% of the atmosphere."
(from above article link)
Another benefit of utilising BSF is to reclaim Phosphate from our food waste.
Repurpose
I like the idea of recycling food waste. I like working with insects. I like that I don't sit behind a desk all day anymore, working for greedy fucks pushing product.
It feels good to repurpose myself, to repurpose waste, for a good purpose.
(Source unknown - sent to me on a msg app from a friend).
Hah, you've found my website :-D
I've also provided a little free intro PDF: https://thelittlewormfarm.com/e/bsf-intro
With link to more some more detailed PDF inside :-)
Thanks @quochoy I read a heap of your stuff when I first did worm farming. Also, you gave me a heads up on what that "blue coloured worm" was 🙏🙏
I'm the guy who sent that news link to you on Facebook by the way 🌞🌞
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