Hacker News Reader

Comment by DanI-S | Hacker News Reader

As a co-founder of Tiny Farms[1], we're betting on the growing need for alternative sources of protein. Humanity's current protein supply is inefficient, unsustainable and won't scale to feed the future world.

Our particular domain is edible insects; we wrote this article about why entrepreneurs should get involved:

http://www.xconomy.com/san-francisco/2013/09/10/5-reasons-dr...

[1] http://www.tiny-farms.com

View on HN

I'm very curious about how you're tackling this problem. It's no longer a secret that insects could provide a rich and abundant source or protein, the biggest problem I've seen this far is how to farm them, in other words what is the sustainable input into these farms?

As the other commenter pointed out, black soldier flies are a wonderful output, but from my research I've seen that they need meat for to grow and their larva to hatch.

We're working on a lot of fronts, from designing farming processes through to developing feed and the substrate that the animals occupy.

With regards to sustainability of input: insects have an inherent feed conversion ratio far higher than conventional livestock, meaning they create more body mass per gram of food, but the actual food source varies from species to species. Since many species can consume things that are currently underutilized, like corn husks, there's a lot of potential for capturing wasted energy.

"Tiny Farms is the edible insect company" Future is here. First Soylent and now this. FTW!

What is the best climate for raising crickets in the US? Or does it matter that much?

Come to Texas, follow the grackles, bring a broom. you can get crickets by the truckload.

A huge amount of insects eaten worldwide are collected just like this. We wouldn't recommend it, though; they are likely to be contaminated with pesticides, fertilizers and other environmental pollutants.

Crickets thrive in the 80s; their optimal temperature is generally around 86 degrees. They also enjoy around 80% humidity for much of their life-cycle. While there are plenty of US regions amenable to their production, it's fairly easy to keep them at the appropriate temperature in any insulated, climate-controlled environment.

If you're curious about growing crickets in your home state, drop us an email if you'd like to know more: contact@tiny-farms.com

Black soldier flies and duckweed FTW.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com