Ontario invests in cricket protein production

Through the AgriInnovate Program, London, Ontario will be investing up to $8.5 million in alternative protein company, Aspire Food Group, to build a cricket protein commercial production facility in the province.

Gareth Evans | Freeimages.com
Gareth Evans | Freeimages.com

What? 

The alternative protein market continues to grow, and Ontario is investing in its future. Through the AgriInnovate Program, London, Ontario will be investing up to $8.5 million in alternative protein company, Aspire Food Group, to build a cricket protein commercial production facility in the province.  

“Aspire is re-imagining what it means to sustainably produce food, and how smart technology can turn that vision into a reality,” said Francis Drouin, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. “Aspire's innovative facility will help further establish London's reputation as a hub for cutting-edge technology, strongly contributing to Ontario and Canada's position as an innovator in agriculture and agri-food.”

Who?

Aspire was created by Mohammed Ashour and fellow classmates after winning the USD1 million Hult Prize in 2013. The Hult Prize is an annual competition that awards students who develop solutions to pressing social issues. 

The company built its first cricket protein facility September 2014 in Austin, Texas. 

“Aspire is grateful to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada for its support of our first commercial facility,” said Ashour, CEO of Aspire. “A growing population and increasing demand for food and material requires sustainable, scalable solutions that keep our world healthy.”

Aspire is also a co-founder of the North American Coalition for Insect Agriculture whose mission “is to encourage positive use of farmed insects in North America,” according to its website.   

Why? 

Aspire’s cricket facilities grow billions of crickets at a time; use less water, energy and space and produce 40% less greenhouse gas emissions than salmon, chicken or turkey production. 

The insect protein market is also expected to be worth more then USD8 billion in the next decade.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, there are over 1,900 insects edible for humans – the most common being from species of beetles, butterflies and moths, bees and wasps and more.  

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