Better Origin partners with Morrisons to roll out systems on farms, cut down emissions and replace soya
Cambridge-based agritech startup Better Origin will supply 10 insect farming containers to Morrisons’ free range egg farms to reduce the use of soya. The rollout is a big step in helping Morrisons achieve their Net Zero targets and becoming the first supermarket to launch carbon neutral eggs.
The Better Origin X1 insect farms recycle supermarket food waste into natural insect protein. The technology mimics nature’s circular system, using insects as the link between food waste and animal feed while promoting a more localised food chain.
The ten X1 containers can save 5,737 tonnes of CO2-eq emissions per year – an equivalent of taking 1,240 cars off the road. It will also save 1,500 tonnes of food waste per year – more than the amount that 21,420 Brits throw away annually.
In this world-first supermarket-driven circular system, the insects are grown on food waste from Morrisons’ own fruit and vegetable site and then fed to free range hens, creating a carbon neutral egg line.
The plan is to eliminate soya on all Morrisons egg farms by feeding hens with live insects - as nature has for thousands of years - and a supplementary diet using other local sources of protein.
Sophie Throup, Head of Agriculture at Morrisons, said: “Eliminating soya from livestock feed has been a challenge for farmers for a long time and we wanted to help find a solution. An insect diet could suit our hens better - they seem to prefer it to prepared feed - and the nutritional benefits are higher. And we’re finding a good home for our fruit and veg waste. We think that this could be the future of egg farming.”
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