Cockroach sushi? Inside a farming revolution that could cure cancer, compost waste – and shake up menus
Hundreds of cockroach farmers across China are unleashing the insects’ potential in the country’s war on waste, in medicine, and deep or stir-fried
At a facility in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong, 3 billion cockroaches are eating 15 tonnes of kitchen waste each day to solve the long-time environmental problem of what to do with mountains of discarded food.
And as restaurants selling cockroach dishes emerge across China, envisioning a future in which a hated insect can be a solution to human food shortages is becoming a little less difficult.
Growing commercial enthusiasm for cockroaches and a more open attitude to the insects is driving more people into the market and fuelling new ideas for their use.
The number of cockroach farmers in Shandong alone has tripled to about 400 in the past three years, according to Liu Yusheng, president of Shandong Insect Industry Association and an entomology professor at Shandong Agricultural University.
“There have been huge developments in cockroach breeding and research in the past few years,” Liu said.
About 2,000km (1,200 miles) away, in the southwestern city of Xichang in Sichuan province, stands a two-storey building in which 6 billion cockroaches are bred to be turned into ulcer-curing drugs.
