Millibeter – Insect farming in Belgium
Photo by Karel Duerinckx
Pioneering with insects
“Every problem has hidden in it an opportunity so powerful that it dwarfs the problem” Joseph Sugarman
After working as a diplomat for over 10 years, Johan Jacobs understood that Western society drastically needed to change for it to last. That’s why in 2012 he founded Milibeter and turned a problem into an opportunity.
Is organic waste one of the most valuable raw materials Belgium has to offer? If you ask Johan Jacobs, he might say yes!
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Waste as resource?
When you look at nature, there is no such thing as waste, there’s only nutrients and molecules that can be used to build something new.
Insects are one of the best organisms to help break down organic compounds to it’s basic parts and upcyle. Milibeter therefore specialises in the use of Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) to turn Belgium’s waste into a resource.
To Arms
Millibeter works with the Black Soldier Fly to convert organic waste into animal fodder or raw materials for the chemical industry. If all works out, this will help human society diversify in the origin of their resources become more resilient.
Currently, Millibeter transforms around 20-30% of garbage into larvae that contain very useful materials like fats, proteins and chitin.
Check out the episode via this link.
