Producers, Consumers, and Decomposers. These three entities make up the entire food chain where every living thing you can find in the world co-exists in the food chain. Certain animals, plants, and insects can thrive in particularly specific areas and regions of the Earth. Unfortunately due to adverse climatic conditions and growing environmental concerns, the insects are affected more and they are forced to relocate to other suitable conditions. Some even get trapped and can soon see their populations going extinct.
Have you heard of the Butterfly Effect? The Butterfly Effect is a theory proposed by Edward Norton Lorenz – a Mathematician and Meteorologist. Simply put, the theory proposes that when even the smallest of things change or cause disruption however small, it will lead to catastrophic events of a larger size sometime down the line and in the future. Similarly, when we apply this theory to the food chain, it is truly eye-opening. All of the living and non-living things that we know of on Earth are part of the environment’s ecosystem and biodiversity. Even the displacement or the complete removal of insects can disrupt the entire food chain and throw it off balance. The co-existence of all species is what keeps the food chain together, and without which certain consequences are seen.
The consequences that occur due to the disruption of the food chain as well as to the environment’s ecosystem and biodiversity can be loss of life, complete extinction of important species, relocation, global warming, climatic changes, natural disasters, etcetera. With the rapidly increasing population requiring more food and fuel for sustenance and improving the quality of life, humans hurt and harm the planet by constantly digging, killing, consuming, degrading, exploiting, and wasting. Now, the world has come to a place where the only solution that can save all of our species is leading a sustainable lifestyle with the adoption and incorporation of eco-friendly farming practices, environmentally conscious mentalities, and sustainability initiatives.
Therefore to move towards a sustainable future where with the integration of technological advancements in innovation and agriculture, many companies and businesses have started up and invested in projects that can save the fall of the food chain during our future generations’ time. Agricultural Technology industries have blown up as of late and are always coming up with innovative and creative solutions to addressing and solving problems. One such cause for concern is the quality levels of food consumed by humans and animals, and how bringing back a certain species of insect fly can help save humanity from hunger as well as the Earth.
Innovafeed – which was co-founded by Aude Guo, Bastien Oggeri, and Clément Ray, is an AgTech business and company in Europe that uses its disruptive technology to lead the largest insect rearing of – Hermetica illucens (Black Soldier Fly), bringing it back to the heart of the food chain. To feed tomorrow’s world, this insect is bred in vertically indoor farms in the factory plant as a nutritional protein feed for plants, animals, and humans. In this article, we share interesting insights into the company’s co-founder and Executive director – Aude Guo, as well as the missions, aims, and future goals.
About Aude Guo – Co-Founder and Executive Director at Innovafeed:
One of the 3 co-founders who started Innovafeed together is, Aude Guo. Aude has a Master’s Degree in Industrial Engineering from the National School of Bridges and Roads, and a Master’s in Business Administration from the College of Engineers. Soon after Aude Guo started her career and in 2010 became a Junior Consultant at McKinsey & Company and later an Associate/Junior Engagement Manager. She also worked in the Aeronautical division at Safran Corporate University for 2 years in between her time at McKinsey & Company.
In the year 2016, Aude Guo, Clément Ray (who also worked at McKinsey & Company before co-founding Innovafeed like Aude), and Bastien Oggeri (a 4-time start-up founder and entrepreneur) banded together and started their mission – “to contribute to the emergence of sustainable food systems by developing a pioneering and innovative industry”.
About INNOVAFEED:
The co-founders founded and started this biotechnology research company in the AgTech industry in the year 2016, as they saw how humans, plants, and animals are consuming low-quality food in recent years. With the deterioration, degradation, and exploitation of the land, air, and water, by humans, the concerns in food quality have become a growing consequential issue. The company is established and located in Paris, France, and strives to provide – “natural and sustainable feed solutions to feed tomorrow’s world”.
Innovafeed achieves this by breeding a specific insect called the Hermetica illucens – Black Soldier Fly as an extra nutritional protein source for animal and plant feed. With this objective, the company is also helping in bringing back this insect to the food chain. By using technological advancements and agricultural by-products from other AgTech industries nearby, the insect is bred in vertical indoor farms present in Innovafeed’s factory plant.
This strategy and initiative also helps promote sustainable futures through the adoption of a circular economy principle and zero-waste carbon emission helping the company play its part in recycling over 300,000 tons of agricultural by-products from other factories and plants and avoiding wastage and landfill dumps. Innovafeed has also seen an annual record of 57,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions reduced, over 250kgs of pelagic fish saved after 1 ton of the fish were fed insects bred by the company, and over 210mᒾ of arable lands saved after 1 ton of poultry were fed the Hermetica illucens insect. Innovafeed’s future goal is to help the insect reclaim its place in the food chain, improve food and farm qualities, and sustainably preserve non-renewable finite resources that are in short supply.
Encouraging a circular economy principle and zero waste carbon emissions, Innovafeed has saved almost 600 workers from job displacements by establishing this company. The expansion to help other sectors such as – Aquaculture by Insect Proteins, Agriculture by Organic Fertilizers, Agro-Industry by Cereals and Agricultural By-Products, and Poultry and Swine by Insect Oils. Therefore Innovafeed contributes directly to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals in Zero Hunger, Responsible Consumption and Production, Climate Action, Life Below Water, and Life On Land. The business is looking to expand and establish ten more operating plants by 2030.