Become an insect farmer to turn muck into brass and help save the planet, Zero Waste Scotland says

A new ‘how-to’ guide on the benefits of becoming an insect farmer has just been published by Zero Waste Scotland.

You won’t need acres of land, unlike traditional cattle, sheep or arable farming. There’ll be no need to brave the elements to tend to your stock as insects are farmed indoors. And you can feed your flies or crickets on Scotland’s vast mountain of food waste from supermarkets and other businesses – all of which means you’ll be helping to combat the climate crisis too.

Insect farming has been identified by Zero Waste Scotland as a sustainable, new way to produce more food using less resources.

The publicly-funded non-profit, which is leading the fight against climate change, has published guidance online to help people take advantage of the lucrative job opportunities it believes insect farming can bring for reducing the waste and carbon emissions driving the climate emergency.

William Clark, bioeconomy specialist at Zero Waste Scotland, wrote the new guidance for would-be insect farmers as changing regulations open up more markets for 21st century farming.

Spelling out the potential for turning food waste into new jobs instead of letting it rot and generate harmful emissions, Dr Clark said: “Insect farming is a really valuable, circular economy way for us to use food waste to produce more protein using less resources.