Towards a Zero Waste Vision using Insects – Urban Farming producing New Values in a Swedish Supermarket

Abstract: The premise of the thesis is that current food systems are unsustainable. In fact, as the global population continues to rise, food systems are under greater strain to deliver quality output in a sustainable way. In sustainable food systems, effective use of agricultural land and reducing food waste are central, as stipulated by Agenda 2030 target to reduce food waste by 50 % to 2030. Insects have gained attention for their ability to effectively convert feed, including feed from food waste, to edible products. Framed by a literature review and an analysis of food waste data from a Swedish supermarket, the ability to rear three insect species, House Cricket (Acheta Domesticus), Yellow Mealworm (Tenebrio Molitor) and Black Soldier fly (Hermetia Illucens) on food waste is examined. The three insect species with the addition of laying hens are also the grounding for evidence-based scenarios. The results indicate that the Black Solider Fly can be reared on unprocessed food waste while the House Cricket requires food waste treated for higher levels of protein and phosphorus and the Yellow Mealworm food waste supplemented by external products such as yeast, carrots or wheat bran. The result from the scenarios shows that substantial amounts of edible output can be produced by providing the insects and laying hens vegetable food waste from the supermarket. The conclusion of this thesis highlights the potential of using insects and laying hens as feed converters in integrated production systems to recover energy and nutrients from food waste and thereby contribute to a food system that produces more output using less land and with less negative environmental impact.