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Inside an insect farm: Are mealworms a sustainable meat alternative?

The French biotech company Ÿnsect plans to open 15 mealworm factories by 2030. We looked inside their pilot plant to see what the future of food might look like

By Alex Wilkins

11 January 2023

Alex Wilkins inside Ynsect's research and development lab in Evry, Paris, France

Alex Wilkins inside Ÿnsect’s research and development lab in Evry, France

David Stock

It is winter in the French town of Dole, but inside the factory where I am standing, the temperature is above 25°C (80°F) and the humid air has a distinctive earthy odour. Robot arms and automated conveyor belts transport stacks of red trays in every direction. The trays are filled with the factory’s raw material: billions of Tenebrio molitor beetle larvae, commonly known as mealworms.

This automated mealworm nursery and slaughterhouse is the blueprint for a global …

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