Rethinking waste streams: using food waste to rear mealworms

Abstract: In needing to create a better and more sustainable future for our world, changing our diet and finding a  sustainable ‘protein of the future’ is one of the necessary steps we must take. This thesis explores the relatively fresh, but not unheard of, concept of using food waste to rear mealworms for human consumption, in the Swedish context. It talks about why we should switch our protein source and how we can do it, by taking the reader step-by-step through the process of producing alternative proteins, and the various scales it can happen. The thesis is written from a waste management perspective and argues for viewing food waste as a resource, by utilising said resource to meet the demands of alternate systems (i.e. growing alternative protein sources), thereby closing the loop. Interviews are combined with literature in such a way that the two compliment each other to make up for missing information, as the subject matter of using food waste to rear insects is still quite fresh and not discussed at great length in literature, especially in the Swedish context. The overarching theoretical point of departure comes from Bill Mollison’s and David Holmgren’s permaculture principles of design, which argues for a holistic view on production, consumption, the environment and just generally how we choose to live our lives. The thesis recommends that a good starting point in rearing insects with food waste, is through community initiatives and discusses how this is possible to achieve. The author hopes that this thesis can be used as a guide, whether it is used by a private individual, an interested group or community, or even municipal actors, to achieve a more sustainable future, and help change the norm of our waste, going to waste.