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2 minute read
Hamburgers made from … crickets?!
Global demand for food is set to outpace the available food production capacity, while destroying the climate goals. It is important to provide enough food and upgrade the capacity, while keeping an eye on sustainability. Dutch company De Krekerij thinks that using insects as a sustainable meat substitute can contribute to food security and while creating a circular planet together.
Alternative protein source
Insect-based products are one of the more useful meat substitutes, with the advantages of being vegan while providing the same nutritious value as meat. Also, cultivating insects is more sustainable tha traditional live-stock. For instance, a kilogram of cricket meat uses 85% less food, 90% less land and 95% less water than a kilogram of beef.
Meat is an important food source for protein. Historically, 40% of our protein intake came from meat and the rest from other vegetable food sources. Nowadays, these figures are reversed and have created a negative impact on food security and the planet. That is why finding alternative protein sources, like insects, is significant.
A kilogram of cricket meat uses 85% less food, 90% less land and 95% less water than a kilogram of beef
Cricket burgers
De Krekerij supports the protein transition, a shift towards less meat and more vegetable consumption and production. Their cricket burgers are made from 30% cricket powder and 70% vegetable food substances, like wheat and green beans.
The company cultivates crickets at its own cricket farm. It makes the product more sustainable by shortening the supply chain between the raw materials and production.
Manufacturing the cricket powder is a circular process. The company uses agricultural residue, like discarded lettuce, to feed the insects. The manure and sawdust the crickets produce are used to fertilise agricultural land.
Unlike other meat substitutes, the De Krekerij hamburgers do not need extra sugar and flavouring additives. It is a pure product, making it one of the most sustainable fast foods on the planet.
De Krekerij hamburgers are one of the most sustainable fast foods on the planet
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