Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential environmental impact of (a) greenhouse gas, (b) nitrous oxide and (c) other emissions from farmed insect frass used as fertiliser.

In 2021 Defra commissioned a scientific review on the insect bioconversion industry, focusing on insect protein used in animal feed. This review highlighted the potential environmental benefits of including insect protein in poultry and pig feeds, and the potential to support a circular economy. This review also identified that more evidence was needed on life cycle assessments within the UK on insect protein production, and a lack of an evaluation of insect feed substrates and potential uses of by-products (e.g., frass and chitin). To address this gap, Defra has commissioned a new project to undertake a life cycle assessment within the UK on insect protein production.