Rethinking insects as alternative protein: emerging environmental and animal welfare considerations

This executive summary from the Stockholm Environment Institute evaluates commercial insect farming in high-income northern hemisphere countries, arguing that the industry often fails to meet its theoretical environmental and sustainability promises.

• Insect farming in temperate climates may not provide the expected environmental benefits, as greenhouse gas emissions per kilogram of protein can be similar to chicken and pork and higher than fishmeal and soymeal. Achieving low emissions requires a combination of renewable energy, minimal heating, and organic waste feed, which is rarely implemented in practice.
• Rather than replacing traditional meat in human diets, insect farming often supports conventional animal agriculture and aquaculture by providing feed for those animals.
• The insect protein sector faces significant risks and opportunity costs, including potential biodiversity threats from accidental releases, animal welfare concerns regarding insect suffering, and the diversion of investment from plant-based, cultivated, or fermentation-derived proteins.

APA

Verkuijl, C., Garzón, C., Shawoo, Z., Scherer, L., & Le Goff, G. (2026). Rethinking insects as alternative protein: emerging environmental and animal welfare considerations. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/publications/rethinking-insects-as-alternative-protein-emerging-environmental-and-animal-welfare-considerations/

Chicago

Verkuijl, Cleo, Camilo Garzón, Zoha Shawoo, Laura Scherer, and Gladys Le Goff. Rethinking insects as alternative protein: emerging environmental and animal welfare considerations. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2026. https://www.sei.org/publications/rethinking-insects-as-alternative-protein-emerging-environmental-and-animal-welfare-considerations/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Verkuijl |first1=Cleo |last2=Garzón |first2=Camilo |last3=Shawoo |first3=Zoha |last4=Scherer |first4=Laura |last5=Le Goff |first5=Gladys |title=Rethinking insects as alternative protein: emerging environmental and animal welfare considerations |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=27 May 2026 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/rethinking-insects-as-alternative-protein-emerging-environmental-and-animal-welfare-considerations/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{verkuijl2026rethinking, author = {Verkuijl, Cleo and Garzón, Camilo and Shawoo, Zoha and Scherer, Laura and Le Goff, Gladys}, title = {{Rethinking insects as alternative protein: emerging environmental and animal welfare considerations}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2026}, month = may, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/rethinking-insects-as-alternative-protein-emerging-environmental-and-animal-welfare-considerations/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }