<p>Jason Drew’s farm doesn’t include artisanal arugula or free-range livestock. His South African company, AgriProtein, grows flies. The pests have the same amino acids as more expensive commercial fish meal, making them an attractive protein source for poultry and fish farmers.</p><div class="vert-display-toggle collapsible relative flex flex-col items-center "><div class="vert-unit mt-4 mb-3 top-20"><div ad-type="mobile-desktop" class="ad-wrapper vert min-h-boombox flex items-start justify-center" data-ad-mapping="inline" data-ad-slot="Discover/inline-ad" id="div-inline-ad-0"></div></div><span aria-label="Advertisement" class="text-ad mt-1 text-[11px] uppercase">Advertisement</span></div><p>After the fly eggs hatch, the larvae feast on waste: leftovers from human food production like juice pulp, and slaughterhouse scraps like pork blood. Some of the larvae are then harvested, dried and pressed into different shapes as food for various seafood and poultry species. The larvae that escaped the food mill grow up and continue the cycle, laying eggs.</p><p>Two new factories in South Africa will each soon house 8.5 billion flies, and have a daily output of 30 tons of pressed larvae — fly farming on an unmatched scale.</p><div data-embedid="dcfb67aa-fdf4-4a19-b4c7-75c497a8de9c" id="insticator-embed-temp"></div><p><em>[This article originally appeared in print as "You Want Flies With That?"]</em></p>

fly-farm.jpg

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The September 2014 issue of Discover Magazine

Face of Hope

Flies provide an alternative source of protein for seafood and poultry. 

Planet Earth

Welcome to the Fly Farm

Article

News

Rebecca L Weber

Science

Jason Drew’s farm doesn’t include artisanal arugula or free-range livestock. His South African company, AgriProtein, grows flies. The pests have the same amino acids as more expensive commercial fish meal, making them an attractive protein source for poultry and fish farmers. After the fly eggs hatch, the larvae feast on waste: leftovers from human food production like juice pulp, and slaughterhouse scraps like pork blood. Some of the larvae are then harvested, dried and pressed into different shapes as food for various seafood and poultry species. The larvae that escaped the food mill grow up and continue the cycle, laying eggs. Two new factories in South Africa will each soon house 8.5 billion flies, and have a daily output of 30 tons of pressed larvae — fly farming on an unmatched scale. [This article originally appeared in print as "You Want Flies With That?"]

Flies provide an alternative source of protein for seafood and poultry.

Discover Magazine’s award-winning journalism inspires and informs, delivering thought-provoking content that sparks meaningful conversations. With a focus on groundbreaking developments in science, technology, and the world around us, Discover highlights the impact of these innovations on our daily lives.

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