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posted by martyb on Tuesday September 01 2020, @06:23PM   Printer-friendly
from the yummy-yummy-in-my-tummy? dept.

Study finds insect shows promise as a good, sustainable food source:

With global food demands rising at an alarming rate, a study led by IUPUI [( Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis)] scientists has found new evidence that a previously overlooked insect shows promise as alternative protein source: the yellow mealworm.

The research is based upon a new analysis of the genome of the mealworm species Tenebrio molitor led by Christine Picard, associate professor of biology and director in Forensic and Investigative Sciences program at the School of Science at IUPUI.

[...] "Human populations are continuing to increase and the stress on protein production is increasing at an unsustainable rate, not even considering climate change," said Picard, whose lab focuses on the use of insects to address global food demand.

The research, conducted in partnership with Beta Hatch Inc., has found the yellow mealworm—historically a pest—can provide benefit in a wide range of agriculture applications. Not only can it can be used as an alternative source of protein for animals including fish, but its waste is also ideal as organic fertilizer.

[...] "Mealworms, being insects, are a part of the natural diet of many organisms," said Picard. "Fish enjoy mealworms, for example. They could also be really useful in the pet food industry as an alternative protein source. Chickens like insects—and maybe one day humans will, too, because it's an alternative source of protein."

Journal Reference:
T. Eriksson, et al. The yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) genome: a resource for the emerging insects as food and feed industry [open], Journal of Insects as Food and Feed (DOI: 10.3920/jiff2019.0057)


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 01 2020, @06:31PM (48 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 01 2020, @06:31PM (#1045008)

    Why would more CO2 lead to less food?

  • (Score: 5, Informative) by DannyB on Tuesday September 01 2020, @06:36PM (24 children)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday September 01 2020, @06:36PM (#1045009) Journal

    All things in moderation.

    Too much CO2 causes the planet to warm. We are already seeing the signs of this.

    Shocking as this may be, it turns out that plants need MORE than just CO2 in order to grow!

    One major thing plants need is a suitable climate and water.

    --
    People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
    • (Score: 0, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 01 2020, @06:50PM (23 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 01 2020, @06:50PM (#1045016)

      Warm climates are also suitable for plants. As is more water.

      • (Score: 3, Informative) by DannyB on Tuesday September 01 2020, @09:00PM

        by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday September 01 2020, @09:00PM (#1045088) Journal

        There are limits to warm. Also there are limits to water. Just as there are limits to CO2.

        --
        People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
      • (Score: 3, Interesting) by PartTimeZombie on Wednesday September 02 2020, @12:29AM (21 children)

        by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Wednesday September 02 2020, @12:29AM (#1045180)

        Warm climates are also suitable for some plants. Which is entirely the point.

        If the planet gets warmer, some places are going to become uninhabitable, and the people who currently live there are going to want to move somewhere else, which will be... difficult.

        "Warmer climate means more food" is simplistic enough to be almost entirely wrong.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2020, @12:37AM (20 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2020, @12:37AM (#1045186)

          If the planet gets warmer, some places are going to become uninhabitable

          Like where?

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2020, @12:39AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2020, @12:39AM (#1045187)

            Portland, Seattle, Chicago, New York, Kenosha...

          • (Score: 4, Interesting) by PartTimeZombie on Wednesday September 02 2020, @12:56AM (18 children)

            by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Wednesday September 02 2020, @12:56AM (#1045192)

            Like Bangladesh (for example).

            India is not going to react well when 190 million people need a new place to live, because their old one is under water.

            The people who live in Louisiana (another example) will probably have fewer problems, but it still won't be fun for them.

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2020, @01:09AM (14 children)

              by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2020, @01:09AM (#1045198)

              I'm in Louisiana and it will be fine. The Mississippi already rose 6 meters in the last 100 years as population and economic growth soared the most in recorded history.

              Other places can do the same.

              • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Wednesday September 02 2020, @01:22AM (13 children)

                by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Wednesday September 02 2020, @01:22AM (#1045204)

                Climate scientists think you're wrong.

                • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2020, @01:35AM (12 children)

                  by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2020, @01:35AM (#1045210)

                  They are scared of 1 meter of sea level rise per century when we already deal with 6 without much issue, who cares?

                  • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Wednesday September 02 2020, @01:54AM (11 children)

                    by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Wednesday September 02 2020, @01:54AM (#1045217)

                    Oh yeah, scientists? What do they know?

                    • (Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2020, @02:36AM (9 children)

                      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2020, @02:36AM (#1045224)

                      Based on their track record, not much.

                      • (Score: 5, Touché) by PartTimeZombie on Wednesday September 02 2020, @03:05AM (8 children)

                        by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Wednesday September 02 2020, @03:05AM (#1045227)

                        No, I understand.
                        Those people who study this sort of stuff are wrong, but that guy on Fox News (who totally has your best interests at heart) knows what's really going on.

                        • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2020, @03:21AM (3 children)

                          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2020, @03:21AM (#1045230)

                          I don't watch fox snooze. But you can look around you and see how much the scientists are helping you.

                          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2020, @06:11AM (2 children)

                            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2020, @06:11AM (#1045273)

                            Heh, so many people playing peekaboo with disaster.

                            Where did it go? THERE IT ISSSS! ooga booga widdle wumpty

                            Seriously, the problems get more dire every year yet people such as yourself just say "I don't see any problems, everything seems fine to meeeee." It is the sucky part of humans, we're so terrible at comprehending long term trends. It takes education, patience, and an open mind.

                            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2020, @02:52PM (1 child)

                              by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2020, @02:52PM (#1045395)

                              No. The water raised 6 meters and guess what was done? The problem was fixed by engineering not whining and years of propaganda campaigns.

                              Just like covid, the problem should already be fixed. The covid patients basically have scurvy and oxygen deficiency. So correct it with vitamin c and hbot. THE END. But this will never be done, because the people supposedly trying to solved the problem will only choose the most expensive and dangerous way.

                              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2020, @06:49PM

                                by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2020, @06:49PM (#1045539)

                                You need to buy stronger petards. The cheap shit ain't working.

                        • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday September 02 2020, @12:48PM (3 children)

                          by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday September 02 2020, @12:48PM (#1045346) Journal

                          No, I understand.

                          Doesn't sound like you do.

                          Those people who study this sort of stuff are wrong

                          Economists study economics, but that hasn't stopped you from concluding they are generically wrong. Here:

                          I would be willing to accept economic advise from Batman. He would be no better or worse than any other economist. Even better, hire some accountants. At least they can do something useful.

                          There are ways people can be wrong than ignorance.

                          Here, the big thing is that there is a widespread bias for alarming climate scenarios - because that's where the funding is.

                          • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday September 02 2020, @12:49PM

                            by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday September 02 2020, @12:49PM (#1045347) Journal
                            Missing the link [soylentnews.org] above.
                          • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Wednesday September 02 2020, @09:35PM (1 child)

                            by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Wednesday September 02 2020, @09:35PM (#1045611)

                            The difference being that economics is not really a science.

                            • (Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday September 03 2020, @02:56AM

                              by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Thursday September 03 2020, @02:56AM (#1045700) Journal
                              The reason economics "is not really a science" is the same reason climatology "is not really a science". Conflicts of interest that are big enough to distort the science. Both are otherwise perfectly reasonable sciences.
                    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2020, @02:11PM

                      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2020, @02:11PM (#1045376)

                      Oh yeah, scientists? What do they know?

                      They know what the grant-givers want. No other knowledge is asked for at present.
                      https://reason.com/2018/10/03/dog-rape-hoax-papers-pluckrose-lindsay/ [reason.com]

            • (Score: 2) by Aegis on Wednesday September 02 2020, @02:25PM (2 children)

              by Aegis (6714) on Wednesday September 02 2020, @02:25PM (#1045384)

              The people who live in Louisiana (another example) will probably have fewer problems, but it still won't be fun for them.

              Yep, they're lucky to have a bunch of blue state money and college educated engineers to bail them out (possibly literally).

              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2020, @02:54PM (1 child)

                by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2020, @02:54PM (#1045396)

                Maybe you should look up the history of the levees. It is a great example of how to deal with rising water levels.

                • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Wednesday September 02 2020, @09:37PM

                  by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Wednesday September 02 2020, @09:37PM (#1045614)

                  It is a great example of how to deal with rising water levels.

                  It's not really "great", it's more like adequate. Until the republicans take over and refuse to spend the money needed to maintain the levees, then it's not even that.

  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by HiThere on Tuesday September 01 2020, @08:02PM (20 children)

    by HiThere (866) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday September 01 2020, @08:02PM (#1045066) Journal

    Because while CO2 enables plants to make more carbohydrates, e.g. cellulose, it doesn't help them make more proteins, which is really pretty much the limiting factor. It's why we use so much ammonia in fertilizers. Also a warmer planet tends to be a dryer planet. There are lots of quibbles about that last one, though, as it's highly situational, but that's the average result. It also doesn't result in increased availability of other needed minerals.

    The result of all that is that plants tend to grow larger and bushier, but less nutritious/pound. If you're starving, and the increase isn't only in cellulose, then this may be an advantage. Otherwise not.

    --
    Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 01 2020, @08:27PM (7 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 01 2020, @08:27PM (#1045074)

      The warmest places on earth are the wettest, and the coldest are deserts. So doesn't seem like more warm places means drier, especially if all that water trapped in the ice caps evaporates.

      And why is nitrogen going away? Nitrogen fixation is increased when it warms: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4992079/ [nih.gov]

      • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday September 01 2020, @09:04PM (4 children)

        by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday September 01 2020, @09:04PM (#1045089) Journal

        Death Valley, while warm, doesn't seem very wet to me. What warmer places on Earth were you thinking of?

        Antarctica, while cold, doesn't seem like a desert to me. What colder places on Earth were you thinking of?

        --
        People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by PinkyGigglebrain on Tuesday September 01 2020, @09:10PM (1 child)

        by PinkyGigglebrain (4458) on Tuesday September 01 2020, @09:10PM (#1045093)

        Please take the time to read a few real books on how the climate works, you ignorance is painful to read.

        --
        "Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
        • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 01 2020, @09:48PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 01 2020, @09:48PM (#1045111)

          I know plants like warm, wet climates with lots of CO2. Somehow releasing CO2 and warming the earth to release craploads of water locked in ice is going to be bad for plants. The stuff you believe is the opposite of reality.

    • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Tuesday September 01 2020, @09:53PM (8 children)

      by Phoenix666 (552) on Tuesday September 01 2020, @09:53PM (#1045115) Journal

      Also a warmer planet tends to be a dryer planet. There are lots of quibbles about that last one, though, as it's highly situational, but that's the average result. It also doesn't result in increased availability of other needed minerals.

      That doesn't make sense. If average temperatures are higher, more water will evaporate and form clouds (assuming the water covering 2/3rd's of the Earth's surface doesn't leave Earth). More rain means more erosion and increased availability of needed minerals.

      But we don't have to guess about that. Average temperatures during the time of the dinosaurs, the Cretaceous, were 4 degrees higher than now and yet it was humid and abundant in plant life. Many species of dinosaur grew to large sizes, so if hotter climate means less nutrition in the biome then they ought to have been smaller than species now. None of us know what tomorrow will be like, but the fossil record contradicts the premise that "a warmer planet tends to be a dryer planet."

      --
      Washington DC delenda est.
      • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Mykl on Wednesday September 02 2020, @02:31AM (6 children)

        by Mykl (1112) on Wednesday September 02 2020, @02:31AM (#1045222)

        All of this fails to address the real problem of climate change. Yes, the Earth has been hotter (and colder) in the past. Yes, life continued and will definitely continue post-climate change.

        What is different is that we have never had billions of people living on coastlines that will soon be underwater if we continue along our current path, growing all of our food through farms that rely on the current climate in their current locations. It is simply impractical to suggest that we all pick up and move 50 kilometres inland, and that we move all of our grain production (for example) up to where we used to grow bananas and pineapples.

        Humanity will survive climate change, but our current way of living will change dramatically for the worse and billions may die in the process. That is what we are trying to avoid.

        • (Score: 2) by deimtee on Wednesday September 02 2020, @04:25AM (1 child)

          by deimtee (3272) on Wednesday September 02 2020, @04:25AM (#1045247) Journal

          What is different is that we have never had billions of people living on coastlines that will soon be underwater if we continue along our current path.

          Depends on your definition of "soon". Moving a couple of meters up the shoreline every century isn't going to collapse society. We might lose some iconic buildings but normal redevelopment can take care of most of rebuilding on slightly higher ground.

          What we should be doing, if you really believe sea level rise is a threat, is passing a law that says there will be no government compensation for ocean flooding for any building built from this point forward. You want to risk building where it might flood, that's your problem, you don't get to unload it on society.

          --
          If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2020, @12:13PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2020, @12:13PM (#1045328)

            Years ago, the government did something similar with redefining where the flood planes were. But, that was something that happened during the Obama administration, so immediately all the racists that inhabit the Republican party objected. Technicually people could still build in the flood plain, it's just that their hopes for being compensated in case of floods were greatly diminished. Given the amount of flooding now versus 30 years ago, it was a move that should have already happened.

        • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Wednesday September 02 2020, @12:12PM (2 children)

          by Phoenix666 (552) on Wednesday September 02 2020, @12:12PM (#1045327) Journal

          Humans are highly adaptible, highly mobile, and highly interconnected. Do you starve if there's a local drought? No, you probably don't even notice, because the supermarket sources the food from Chile or Canada or some other place. If climate change means the container ships start moving less in this direction and more in that, well, we'll deal with it. With only today's technological capabilities, we can handle it. With tomorrow's, we'll do even better.

          There's also the question of rate of change. If sea level jumps 50 feet everywhere tomorrow, then you are correct that "billions may die in the process," but that's a florid scenario. What's much more likely to be the case is that it will creep up over generations. Short, by a geologist's or climatologist's standards, but long by a normal human's.

          We definitely should live lighter on the Earth. We should stop burning fossil fuels, and we should consume less as individuals for a whole host of reasons. But let's refrain from panic. Life will be fine. The Earth will be fine. Humanity will be fine.

          --
          Washington DC delenda est.
          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2020, @12:18PM (1 child)

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2020, @12:18PM (#1045331)

            That's a rather dangerous attitude to have here. We may figure out how to deal with it or we may not. You're assuming that we will get it figured out quickly enough, but the reality is that at some point we may cause a problem that is so significant and/or fast that we can't solve it in time. And even if we do manage to solve it, there's no guarantee that there won't be mass starvation in the meantime while trying to implement it.

            At some point, we may well find that things are shifting so quickly that we can't move the infrastructure fast enough to keep up. A local drought is one thing, we can just grow food elsewhere, but when it's huge swathes of the planet becoming inhospitable it may turn permanently unusable for agriculture the way that the Sahara did.

            This is one of the reasons why it's so foolish to rely on technology to solve the climate crisis without doing what we can to reduce emissions as much as practical. We can pretty much always cut emissions by simply powering down most of the equipment that's emitting carbon dioxide, but making things more efficient is a much harder task to accomplish.

            • (Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday September 03 2020, @03:01PM

              by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Thursday September 03 2020, @03:01PM (#1045875) Journal

              We may figure out how to deal with it or we may not. You're assuming that we will get it figured out quickly enough, but the reality is that at some point we may cause a problem that is so significant and/or fast that we can't solve it in time.

              Evidence for this "reality"? I'll point out that we have plenty of evidence that we can adapt to a lot of problems pretty quickly.

              This is one of the reasons why it's so foolish to rely on technology to solve the climate crisis without doing what we can to reduce emissions as much as practical.

              What makes you think we're not already doing that? There's an awful lot of poor people who can't eat reduced emissions, for example.

        • (Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday September 03 2020, @04:35AM

          by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Thursday September 03 2020, @04:35AM (#1045737) Journal

          It is simply impractical to suggest that we all pick up and move 50 kilometres inland

          Over the course of a couple of centuries or more. Come on.

      • (Score: 2) by HiThere on Wednesday September 02 2020, @03:35AM

        by HiThere (866) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday September 02 2020, @03:35AM (#1045234) Journal

        There were, indeed, places where plants were abundant. But the deserts were HUGE!!

        Still, the time of the dinosaurs wouldn't be a good example, even if it backed you up. (It doesn't.) The distribution of land masses was very different, and also, partially because of that, the ocean currents. There's a lot more green areas now than there was at the time of the dinosaurs. You're thinking of the equivalent of the jungles of Africa, and ignoring the veldt and the Sahara (and the Kalahari). Yes, those places exist. But they aren't most of the planet.

        --
        Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
    • (Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday September 03 2020, @02:37PM (2 children)

      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Thursday September 03 2020, @02:37PM (#1045864) Journal

      It's why we use so much ammonia in fertilizers.

      In other words, an already solved problem. Who would have thought that if your plants aren't getting enough nitrogen in the soil, then you need to add nitrogen to the soil?

      Also a warmer planet tends to be a dryer planet. There are lots of quibbles about that last one, though, as it's highly situational, but that's the average result.

      Rather that the places where we grow the most food, like the US or Russia, for example, are thought to experience less rainfall with more warming. We'll see if those climate models are accurate.

      • (Score: 2) by HiThere on Thursday September 03 2020, @06:01PM (1 child)

        by HiThere (866) Subscriber Badge on Thursday September 03 2020, @06:01PM (#1045946) Journal

        Sorry, but it's not a "solved problem". Making ammonia is expensive in the quantities needed. Also fertilizers high in nitrogen tend to be explosive when mishandled. Also it's another example of "the law of the minimum". If you add what was at minimum, you're likely to find the next limit snapping at your heels before you've made significant progress.

        FWIW, the improper use of nitrogen fertilizers is already one of the major causes of "dead zones" where rivers drain agricultural areas. Not exactly a "solved problem".

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        • (Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday September 03 2020, @11:41PM

          by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Thursday September 03 2020, @11:41PM (#1046119) Journal

          Sorry, but it's not a "solved problem". Making ammonia is expensive in the quantities needed. Also fertilizers high in nitrogen tend to be explosive when mishandled. Also it's another example of "the law of the minimum". If you add what was at minimum, you're likely to find the next limit snapping at your heels before you've made significant progress.

          It still means the problem is solved. Then you're on to the next limit and fixing that as well.

          FWIW, the improper use of nitrogen fertilizers is already one of the major causes of "dead zones" where rivers drain agricultural areas. Not exactly a "solved problem".

          Because there's no such thing as proper use of nitrogen fertilizers?

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2020, @02:28PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2020, @02:28PM (#1045387)

    https://www.ehn.org/carbon-dioxide-makes-food-less-healthy-2598739140.html [ehn.org]

    It is already leading to food being less healthy.

    tldr: More CO2 means more sugar production, more energy, yay. However, the same amount of nutrients are diluted in more carbs, boo.

    So while global warming isn't making your food less healthy, global CO2 concentrations are causing both.

    • (Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday September 03 2020, @03:08PM

      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Thursday September 03 2020, @03:08PM (#1045879) Journal

      It is already leading to food being less healthy.

      The money quote:

      Scientists estimate nutrient and mineral concentrations are as much as 17 percent lower in affected crops grown under high CO2 concentrations (550 parts per million) compared to current CO2 levels of about 400 ppm.

      It's not a significant effect.