There's a fly in my food
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Not actually a fly, but the larva of the black soldier fly to be precise. Sounds tastier, right?
Insect-based dog food is becoming increasingly popular.
The breeding of these larvae has a much lower impact on the environment and would be a good alternative for dogs that are sensitive or intolerant to certain proteins. Well, we at DogGuardian are all ears! So I did some research and in this blog you can read more about reducing the environmental impact of processing (dog) food and what a complete insect meal for our loyal four-legged friends consists of.
Hypoallergenic
Dogs that are sensitive or intolerant to certain proteins could benefit from a new type of protein, insect-based dog food.
The food is hypoallergenic, because your dog has never been exposed to insect protein. This makes the chance of an allergy low. This also applies in principle to animal proteins that you have not yet fed to your dog.
If you suspect that your dog has a food intolerance or reacts badly to many different foods, you could try insect food. Especially since it is a new product.
Please note, just like with people, an allergy or intolerance can develop for almost anything. Give the body some time to get used to the new protein. It is also best to avoid other proteins, so that you can get a good idea of whether the food is working well.
For owners who are concerned about the climate and how we can do our part, read on…
Environmental impact
Fortunately, we are becoming more aware of our impact on the climate and how we can reduce it. However, the impact of our pets on the environment is not yet so clear.
Nowadays, the production of dog food mainly uses the remains of the animal that is not suitable for human consumption. You could say that the meat industry works sustainably in this way, after all, as little as possible is thrown away after slaughter. But the human population is growing and with it the necessary food requirement. Moreover, pets enrich our lives, health and well-being, which also causes this population to grow and with it the demand for meat.
Livestock farming has enormous negative consequences for our planet, including soil acidification due to ammonia, greenhouse gas emissions, the use of large amounts of water and the use of large areas of (agricultural) land.
Dog parents are increasingly looking for high-quality, specialized food that gives our friends the right nutritional values and thus optimally supports their health. The search for this type of dog food that is also focused on a reduced impact on the environment, has led to the use of insects.
Mini nursery
An insect farm is much more environmentally friendly and sustainable than livestock farming, research shows.
Of course, because a larva needs much less space than a cow 🙄 . In addition, there is also less water use. For comparison; producing 1 gram of edible chicken protein requires 2 to 3 times more land and 50% more water than processing insects. For beef protein, this is 8 to 14 times more land and 5 times more water than with insects. Do the math!
The emission of greenhouse gases is lower. A chicken farm emits 32% to 167% more, with pigs this is 51% to 287% more than with insects. And with cows it is 6 to 13 times as much.
The insect droppings are very dry, which also releases less ammonia.
Insects love to clean up waste. They feed on fruit and vegetable remains, slaughterhouse waste or other organic material such as wood chips. One kilo of black soldier fly larvae can process 25 tons of GFT waste in a week and create 5 tons of new larvae.
Insect farming is relatively simple. You can do it in the countryside, but also in urban areas. You don’t need much space for large volumes. A female black soldier fly can produce up to a thousand eggs. You need fairly simple technical facilities. They don’t use much water and help you clean up your banana peel.
NB European law only allows plant-based feed to be given to insects for breeding.
Insects in the food bowl
When we switch to a more sustainable way of feeding our best friends, it is of course important that it is a complete meal that provides the necessary daily nutritional values. Because 'only the best'…
One of the most important nutritional values is protein. And dogs need quite a bit, about 18 to 22% of their meal.
And insects can provide this well, specifically the larvae. For example, a larva of the black soldier fly (ZSV) contains no less than 42% protein in dry form. The larva also contains Lauric acid (saturated fatty acid) which helps regulate cholesterol and also functions antimicrobially against certain bacteria, fungi and viruses.
On every pack of dog food you can read the analysis. If we look at the analysis of ZSV larvae (again in dry form), we see:
Crude protein: 41-43%
Crude fat: 17-43%
Crude ash: 15-27%
Fiber: 4-10%
Calcium = 58-93 g/kg
Phosphorus = 5-13 g/kg
Now this all sounds very technical. So let's take a simple example:
To feed an adult dog the daily required protein and fats, you need 90 grams of chicken protein and only 45 grams of ZSV protein. For fatty acids, you need 143 grams of chicken fats and only 20 grams of ZSV fats.
Tasty?
Canids (such as wolves, foxes and jackals) regularly eat insects in the wild. But does that mean our (spoiled) pets will also drool over larvae in their food?
There has also been a lot of research done on this and yes, the dogs like it. It is easily digestible and has no negative effect on the intestinal flora and stool.
And don't be afraid that you will see something crawling in the feeder, the larvae are dried, ground and pressed. So it looks like a normal chunk.
In our range
DogGuardian.nl offers insect food from Darf. It is cold-pressed chunks, without gluten and completely without salt.
The main ingredient consists of the larvae of the black soldier fly, North Sea fish and eggs. This combination provides a complete meal in terms of the daily required proteins and fatty acids. For more information, click here .
Darf is a Dutch company that works with natural ingredients and their food consists of at least 60% animal proteins.
Source:
https://inagro.be/sites/default/files/media/files/2021-10/Handleiding_BSF_web.pdf
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34573490/
https://www.publish.csiro.au/AN/AN23080
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/365477891_Environmental_impact_of_diets_for_dogs_and_cats
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/361095696_Insects_as_Feed_for_Companion_and_Exotic_Pets_A_Current_Trend