Insects as sustainable source of feed for poultry

Abstract

Production of animal feed in an environmentally effective way is the key point for the development of sustainable agriculture. The livestock farming industry is increasing globally to meet the demand for animal protein, resulting in higher food–feed competition while rationing animal diets. In addition, it creates increased pressure on natural resources like land, water, oil, etc., resulting in higher prices of feed ingredients for poultry production. Insects like black soldier flies and yellow mealworm are naturally consumed by various poultry species, although they are not yet explored as feed in commercial poultry production. However, recently, insect meal as an alternative source of protein or fat for animals has been noted in many scientific publications. The present review highlights an outline of the efficacy of insect meal as an alternate protein or fat source in poultry diets on the growth performance, meat quality and health status of chickens to date. Finally, the present review concludes that the large scale of insect production for poultry diets can minimize feed costs by altering the traditional protein or fat source ingredients, and thus insects can be a potential and sustainable source of feed for poultry production.