Link: https://phys.org/news/2026-03-climate-friendly-insect-protein.html

The larvae of the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) are considered a promising source of sustainable protein, as they contain high-quality protein comparable to soy protein. They can produce this protein from a wide variety of biomass sources, including by-products and residues from agriculture and food processing. However, while their potential is the subject of intense debate, little is known about the emission of greenhouse gases during their rearing.

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Roughly 9kg of feed to make 1kg of animal protein (livestock).

Vs 1 kg of feed to make 9kg of insect protein.

IIRC.

So, uhh, genuine question, where does the extra 8kg of mass come from?

It's IRRELEVANT if you're allergic to shellfish/insects/crustaceans.

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You're right: nothing produces 9-kg of protein on 1-kg of feed.

Here are some feed-conversion-ratios:

Those aren't protein, those are total, from what I can see.

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But even with reproduction, the elements for the mass need to come from somewhere. There's a reason that pregnant women say they are eating for two.

An insect is not a magic mass producing machine, it cannot produce more than it takes in... however, the quality of the food needed for insects is much lower than what's needed for something like a cow.

I jumped down the rabbit hole because I like the idea that insects could harvest carbon from the atmosphere... especially since carbon is required for amino acids. But it looks like that's not the case (great hypothesis though!)

I did find a reliable source that puts insect food to protein conversion at 2:1, which is still impressive compared to a cow at around 8:1.

From https://www.fao.org/edible-insects/en?hl=en-US#%3A~%3Atext=%232%2Ckg+of+body+weight+gain.

Insects have a high feed conversion efficiency because they are cold-blooded. On average, insects can convert 2 kg of feed into 1 kg of insect mass, whereas cattle require 8 kg of feed to produce 1 kg of body weight gain.

Bacteria live on insects. They adhere to them on a substrate of mineralogist carbonate that they get from C02 in air, it's a significant amount of carbon fixing.