The insect protein in petgood’s products is 7 x more sustainable than soy

 

According to the UN, the agricultural sector and related food production stands for one third of all CO2 emissions, of which meat production constitutes 54% (1). Pets in turn, are estimated to consume around 25% of all meat (2). The growing demand for traditional protein sources is causing a huge environmental footprint on our planet in terms of resource use and CO2 emissions.

A new Life Cycle Assessment (LCA; a commonly accepted way of evaluating the effects that a product has on the environment over its lifetime) conducted by the Deutsches Institut für Lebensmitteltechnik (DIL) (3, 4) on petgood’s insect protein supplier Protix, shows that the insect protein from the black soldier fly, i.e. the insect protein used in all petgood products, reduces the environmental footprint compared to traditional alternatives, even plant-based:

• The CO2 footprint is 7 times lower for the black soldier fly compared to soy protein concentrate
  
  
• Producing protein from insects instead of soy means we can return 74% of land and save 64% of water. In fact, each kilogram of the insect protein reduces water consumption by 330 litres compared to soy protein (190 litres vs. 520 litres) 

The demand for sustainable, high-quality protein is growing as people become increasingly aware of the pressure on our planet from traditional protein sources. This applies for all family members, and the modern pet parents demand sustainable solutions that don’t come at the expense of pet health. The use of insect protein has exponentially increased in recent years due to the remarkable capacity of its larvae to efficiently convert by-products and food side-streams into valuable nutrients such as proteins and fats. Insects are powerful upcyclers and the black soldier fly in particular is one of nature’s most efficient “composting machines”. They have the ability to turn organic waste into valuable biomass very fast, and with a low impact on resources: one tonne of insects can be grown in 14 days using a land area of only 20 m2.

“We are very happy to see the strong results from the LCA, showing that the black soldier fly is an extremely sustainable and resource-efficient source of protein. Since it’s also such a high quality source of protein for pets, it is a perfect alternative to traditional protein in pet food. We look forward to continuing to accelerate the transformation to sustainable food systems together with Protix.”
Pernilla Westergren, CEO & Founder of petgood

Petgood is committed to leaving no footprints behind, while serving pets healthy food. Together with their insect supplier Protix, petgood can deliver on the promise to provide a more sustainable solution that comes with health benefits as well. All their products are based on insect protein and avoid other animal ingredients and ingredients from outside the EU, making their products a sustainable alternative.  

About Protix

Protix breeds larvae from the black soldier fly and is the market leader in insect-based nutrition for healthy and sustainable pet food, animal feed and plant feed. Protix is unique in providing insect ingredients on an industrial scale. The company harnesses the black soldier fly’s remarkable capacity to quickly turn low-grade food waste into valuable nutrients such as proteins and fats. From the outset, Protix has worked in collaboration with forward-thinking partners to bring its vision to life and build technologies and applications that were previously non-existent.

www.protix.eu 

References

1. UN - environment programme (Emission Gap Report 2022) The closing window ISBN: 978-92-807-3979-4

2. Okin et al. (2017). Environmental impacts of food consumption by dogs and cats. Plos One. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0181301

3. Press Release on the latest LCA. DIL Life Cycle Assessment confirms Protix’s products have a considerably lower environmental footprint compared with common alternatives. https://protix.eu/wp-content/uploads/LifeCycleAnalysesProtixProducts.pdf

4. Smetana et al. (2019). Sustainable use of Hermetia illucens insect biomass for feed and food: Attributional and consequential life cycle assessment. Resources, Conservation and Recycling. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.01.042