Volare on Maaseudun Tulevaisuus: Insects didn’t become popular as human food in Finland – now they’re being turned into livestock feed
Volare’s collaboration with Mäntymäen Luomutila and Rehux Oy to create poultry feedstock with insect-based ingredients garnered the interest of Maaseudun Tulevaisuus, a Finnish newspaper with a special focus on agriculture and forestry.
Journalist Markku Pulkkinen visited the Mäntymäen Luomutila farm to learn more about our collaboration and see how the laying hens enjoyed the new feed. Virva Latostenmaa from Mäntymäen Luomutila shared why she wanted to try insects in the feed.
“I was excited to try insect protein because insects are natural food for birds anyway. With this new feed component we can also reduce our carbon footprint.”
“The production of insect protein adheres to the principles of the circular economy because the black soldier fly uses the food industry sidestream as nutrition,” Volare’s COO Jarna Hyvönen explains.
Rehux Oy’s CEO Thomas Fagerholm also adds that insect protein is an interesting new source for the feed industry. With the diverse amino acid composition, Volare’s protein is suitable for livestock.
And how have the laying hens enjoyed the food?
“We haven’t done any close research on the topic but I think that the flock that fed onthe insect-based feed seems to be calmer and more balanced compared to the ones that had the regular feed,” Virve shares.
Read the full article by Markku Pulkkinen on Maaseudun Tulevaisuus (in Finnish).
