Cricket Farming Versus Chicken: A Sustainability Study
Author: Faculty of Science - University of Copenhagen
Published: 15 May 2017 - Updated: 22 Jun 2026
Publication Details: Peer-Reviewed | Informative
Table of Contents:
Synopsis - Definition - Introduction - Main - Insights, Updates - Related Publications
Synopsis: This research, conducted by the University of Copenhagen and published as a peer-reviewed article in the Journal of Cleaner Production, presents the first study to measure the environmental impacts of commercial insect production and pinpoint its sustainability hotspots. Using a life cycle assessment, lead author Afton Halloran and colleagues compared cricket farming in Thailand against broiler chicken production across fifteen measures, among them global warming potential, resource depletion, and eutrophication, and found that crickets generally carried a lower impact thanks to more efficient conversion of feed into animal protein. The findings are useful because they replace broad claims about insects as a food of the future with hard environmental data, while also being honest about where the system still falls short, particularly the reliance on commercial chicken feed whose maize and soy ingredients carry their own environmental costs.*
At a Glance
- 1 - The main reason crickets outperformed chicken was feed efficiency, since the production of feed is itself a major environmental hotspot in both farming systems.
- 2 - Cricket farming has operated in Thailand for nearly twenty years, with roughly 20,000 farms concentrated across the northeastern and northern regions of the country.
- 3 - Of more than 2,000 insect species regularly eaten worldwide, most are still harvested from the wild and only around nine species are currently farmed for food and feed.
- Topic Definition: Edible Insect Farming
Edible insect farming is the controlled rearing of insect species, such as crickets, to produce protein for human food and animal feed. Promoted as a more resource-efficient alternative to conventional livestock, it draws on the insects' ability to convert feed into edible protein with comparatively low environmental cost, and it is often assessed through life cycle analysis that weighs impacts like greenhouse gas emissions, resource use, and nutrient pollution. Practiced at scale in countries such as Thailand and studied within wider green economy research, edible insect farming sits at the intersection of nutrition, agriculture, and environmental sustainability, offering animal source foods whose nutritional value can rival meat and fish.
Introduction
Identifying areas of particular high impact is an important step to improving the environmental sustainability of production systems. Insects have been heralded as the foods of the future - and now the first study to measure the environmental impacts and identify hotspots associated with commercial insect production has been published.
Main Content
Cricket farming can be a sustainable way to produce animal source foods
The study demonstrated that cricket farming can be a sustainable means of producing animal source foods. The study compared cricket production in Thailand to broiler chicken production. Fifteen different environmental impacts were investigated including global warming potential, resource depletion and eutrophication.
In most cases, cricket production had a lower impact than broiler chicken production. The major reason for the lower impacts is the fact that the feed conversion into animal protein is more efficient, as the production of the feed is a major hotspot in both systems.
"This research is very timely, as there are many different stakeholders interested in farmed insects. Many people have seen insects as a means of lowering the environmental burden of animal production. Insects, in many cases, can be comparable to meat and fish in terms of nutritional value. The fact that we have shown here that they can be produced more environmentally sustainably than meat means that they represent a massive potential for lowering the impact of the food production" explains lead author, PhD student Afton Halloran of the University of Copenhagen's Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports.
Possibility to Become Even More Environmentally Sustainable
The study also demonstrated the need for further research to look into alternative ways of feeding the crickets:
"While crickets consume plant matter in the wild, farmers started to use commercial chicken feeds because they saw that the crickets grew faster. Unfortunately, the production of feed ingredients like maize and soy can have detrimental effects on the environment. Luckily our colleagues at the Department of Entomology, Khon Kaen University are looking into other feed sources farmed crickets, such as different kinds of plants and waste products" concludes PhD student Afton Halloran.
In Thailand, cricket farming has been occurring for nearly 20 years with 20,000 farms scattered throughout the northeastern and northern parts of the country. Around the world, there are over 2,000 insect species that are regularly eaten. Most of these species are harvested from the wild, but around nine insect species are currently farmed for food and feed.
About the Study
The study is published as the article Life cycle assessment of cricket farming in north-eastern Thailand in the Journal of Cleaner Production.
The study is a part of GREEiNSECT, a research project investigating the contribution of insects for food and feed to green economy.
GREEiNSECT is led by Dr. Nanna Roos of the University of Copenhagen and funded by Danida, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- Exploring the Varied Tastes of Culinary Ants: Ants can sometimes be roasted whole for a snack or ground and used to add flavor and texture to dishes.
- European Consumers Attitudes To Alternative Protein Food Products: Researchers from SWPS University analyzed European consumers attitudes towards alternative protein food products.
Insights, Analysis, and Developments
Editorial Note: What makes this study worth attention is its refusal to treat sustainability as a slogan, measuring the environmental case for edible insects against a familiar benchmark rather than simply asserting it, and then pointing squarely at the feed supply as the next problem to solve - a measured starting point for anyone curious about whether farmed insects can genuinely lighten the footprint of putting protein on the plate.*Attribution/Source(s): This peer reviewed publication was selected for publishing by the editors of Disabled World (DW) due to its relevance to the disability community. Originally authored by Faculty of Science - University of Copenhagen and published on 15 May 2017, this content may have been edited for style, clarity, or brevity.
* Editorial additions by Ian C. Langtree.