For millions of years the humble fly has unwittingly held the secret to two of the modern world’s most pressing problems: how to produce less waste and more protein.
With astonishing efficiency, flies convert organic waste into fast-growing, protein-rich larvae, which are happily gobbled up by chickens, fish and pigs. Humans are finally catching up with the trend and are pouring money into the construction of vast insect farms to industrialise this age-old natural process and sell the output to farmers.
This shift towards more sustainable sources of protein and growing investment in several other sectors, such as plant-based meats, robotics, and nanotechnology, has been hailed as the second agricultural revolution. With luck, it can play a vital part in helping to feed the additional 1bn people who will live on the planet by 2030 and combat catastrophic climate change.