• Villanueva de los Caballeros is the first place in Castile and León to host a mealworm farm.
• Insects serve as food for birds, reptiles and other animals
• The owners are fighting against the prejudice against human consumption of a product with many health benefits for animals and plants.

In 2021, the Tenebrio molitor ( Mealworm) became the first insect approved by the European Food Safety Authority ( EFSA ) for human consumption, both in its worm form and in powdered form. This so-called "mealworm" is an insect whose uses and exploitation have been increasing in recent years, although culture has not yet favored its use by society for personal consumption.

However, this trend is no coincidence: the mealworm is an insect rich in protein and lipids containing polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially linoleic and oleic acids. All of this makes it a food with great nutritional value specifically for animals and, therefore, interesting for livestock use.

Insectropía is a company based in Villanueva de los Caballeros (Valladolid), and if you visit its website, you can see how insects offer a variety of uses for livestock farmers and even farmers: animal farms, pet food, fish farms, and plant food.

Insects in the village

As he told the local Tierra de Campos Action Group , the owner of Insectropía, Israel Benito Vargas, began this project four years ago in the Valladolid town because of the ease of setting up the company there and because of his commitment to the economy of a rural area full of business opportunities.

Israel built this farm on a pig shed, whose bureaucracy was similar to that of any other animal farm. Although banks were reluctant to finance such a seemingly risky project, LEADER 's support for young farmers opened the door.

A few months later, the facility can produce up to 20,000 kilos of mealworms per year, and has become the first farm in Castile and León to raise insects for livestock and land .

Since then, it has continued to attract the attention of all kinds of customers and companies who find in its product a healthy, affordable, and guaranteed alternative in formats as varied as live mealworms (for fish, reptiles, or birds), dehydrated (for pets), ground (for farm feed), and guano (as a fertilizer for plants and gardens).

Support for this project is part of the regional cooperation program +Business +Employment +Rural , of the Local Action Groups of Castile and León.