While this story strays somewhat from greenhouse vegetable production, it's still worth covering, as it sits on the periphery of the sector and represents a form of controlled environment agriculture. The French insect farming company Ynsect has been forced to liquidate its production facility, bringing an end to more than a decade of research and development focused on producing food-grade insects, specifically mealworms, at scale. The pioneering vertical farming company raised hundreds of millions of dollars, positioning itself as the clear frontrunner in the insect farming space.
 

Several factors have been cited as contributing to the collapse of this innovative company. Rapid scaling outpaced revenue generation, making it difficult to achieve financial balance. Another challenge was the choice of insect species.

While Ynsect focused on mealworms, other insect farming companies have seen greater success with Black Soldier Flies (BSF). I've written previously about the potential of BSF waste as a plant fertilizer and the use of BSF protein, as animal feed appears to be a more financially viable model. In addition, BSF have a broader dietary range and offer advantages in production logistics.
 

The primary advantage of mealworms lies in their higher palatability for human consumption. However, the consumer market for people buying insect protein to eat remains limited, particularly in Western countries. Ynsect targeted higher-margin markets such as pet food, but, ultimately, was unable to reach the scale and profitability required to sustain operations.
 

Looking ahead, it will be interesting to see whether insects become integrated into plant production facilities as part of circular production systems. Aquaponics currently represents only a small segment of the industry, and while the concept of facilities producing plants, fish, mushrooms and insects under one roof is compelling, the practical and economic realities of such circular systems remain elusive.

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