Given increasing global political, security and economic challenges, politicians in the European Union (EU) are seeking to reduce the EU's dependence on imports, including feed for farmed livestock. While insect farming has been suggested as an advantageous source of livestock feed is the insect farming industry, the sector has not met optimistic expectations. In particular, labor and electricity costs are driving insect companies offshore, including to Asia and the United States. This paper explores ways that the EU could solve this problem, the most promising of which is to expand the EU's production of maize and soy.

In the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and increasing global destabilization, policy makers within the European Union have expressed the need to reduce the bloc's dependence on imported agricultural products such as livestock feed. One industry that has been promoted as an advantageous source of livestock feed is insect agriculture. However, the insect industry's growth has not kept pace with optimistic expectations, and high labor and electricity costs in Europe appear to be driving major insect companies to expand production offshore. One solution may involve supporting the automation of insect farming, though automation may have harmful social consequences by reducing employment and exacerbating inequality. A more promising solution could involve bringing additional land under cultivation to expand domestic production of maize and soy, and the most up-to-date estimates suggest that doing so may even offer environmental benefits over insect production.

Insect farming has been offered as a solution to EU food security, but labor and power costs complicate the picture.