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WILDWOOD ÔÇö A Fenton-based startup, The Mighty Cricket, is leading the way in using crickets as a protein source and is now looking to cultivate its own cricket crop in Wildwood. Founded in 2018, The Mighty Cricket recently received a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to collect food waste from local restaurants and grocery stores to feed their cricket crop and enhance its flavor. This move comes as the demand for sustainable and healthy food options grows.

In the United States, consuming insects as part of one’s diet, besides unknowingly consuming around 2 pounds of bug bits each year, is still uncommon. However, the market is seeing a shift as more attention is given to sustainability and health. Fast-food chains are now including vegan burgers on their menus, and lab-grown meat companies have gained FDA approval. The protein alternatives market in the U.S. grew by 60% between 2019 and 2021, primarily from products made from beans and legumes. Despite the increasing options available, accepting bugs as a source of nourishment can still be challenging for many Americans.

Jeff Tomberlin, an entomologist and Texas A&M University professor, explains that bugs like grasshoppers are not actually visible in most insect-based food products. In many regions across the globe, insects like mealworms, beetles, and ants are consumed regularly, with around 2 billion people in Africa, Asia, and Latin America incorporating them into their daily meals. The insect market is projected to reach $9.6 billion worldwide by 2030.

Tomberlin believes that the United States is lagging behind in adopting insects as a food source. To address this, he co-founded the Center for Environmental Sustainability Through Insect Farming, partnering with two other universities, to study and advance insect production for both human and animal consumption. Bugs have several advantages over traditional meat sources, such as beef, pork, and chicken. They produce significantly less methane, a greenhouse gas contributing to climate change, and require less agricultural land.

Crickets are particularly efficient as a protein source. They require minimal space, food, and water, and their population turns over in just six to eight weeks. Once they reach maturity, they are placed in freezers to enter a state of torpor, much like they would during late autumn nights, before dying after 24 hours. Mighty Cricket’s owner, Sarah Schlafly, finds the process quite beautiful. Afterward, the crickets are blanched, roasted, and milled. The resulting powder is then blended into products such as oatmeal (apple cinnamon, dark chocolate, and coconut cream flavors) or protein supplements (plain, vanilla, and chocolate).

While Mighty Cricket has been sourcing crickets from external suppliers for five years, they have faced reliability and taste inconsistency issues. To overcome these challenges, Schlafly decided to establish her own cricket farm to have complete control over the insects’ diets and achieve the desired flavor profile. Through a Small Business Innovation Research Grant, she secured funding to establish her cricket farm and conduct further research and development at the Helix Center, a biotech incubator in Creve Coeur, Missouri.

Schlafly aims to replicate a specific batch of crickets she sampled a couple of years ago that had an exceptional taste resembling pistachios. By experimenting with the crickets’ diets, she hopes to refine their flavor. The initial phase involves starting a cricket farm in her garage using 10 plastic bins. She plans to have around a thousand crickets feeding on discarded food items from local grocers and restaurants, such as stale bread, carrot tops, wilted greens, and potato peels. Once she achieves consistency in the crickets’ diet, Schlafly plans to scale up production for the Mighty Cricket product line and potentially cater to exotic animal owners, pet food manufacturers, and zoos. However, this expansion will require additional funding and may take some years to achieve.

Despite the slow progress, experts believe that if small businesses like The Mighty Cricket remain dedicated and persistent, insects will ultimately gain recognition beyond being viewed as pests. Tomberlin suggests that insects should be seen as providers of essential nutrients like vitamin B12 and minerals, as well as environmental superheroes due to their low environmental impact compared to traditional meat sources.

In conclusion, The Mighty Cricket, through its innovative approach of cultivating crickets for protein production, is contributing to the growing demand for sustainable and healthy food options. The AI legalese decoder can assist businesses like The Mighty Cricket by offering legal guidance and support in navigating the complex regulatory landscape surrounding insect-based food products. By leveraging AI-powered technologies, the legalese decoder can rapidly analyze and interpret legal documents, ensuring compliance with food safety regulations and enabling businesses to operate with confidence in the emerging insect-based protein market.

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