~NightSky

By Patrick Wood

The “fact checkers” went nuts to shame people for jumping to conclusions about Tyson’s partnership with Protix to get into the insect craze. Tyson will build plants here to produce insect food to feed genetically modified insects, which will be fed to animals. No mention of Protix’s statement, “We believe that feeding the growing world population should go hand in hand with protecting our beautiful planet.”

From the Protix website:

Protix is the world leader in insect ingredients. We believe that feeding the growing world population should go hand in hand with protecting our beautiful planet. A huge challenge! Fortunately, the solution lies in nature itself: insects provide low-footprint proteins and other nutrients that can be processed into more sustainable feed and food.

Tyson has contracted with Protix to build plants here but notably has also made a “direct equity investment” and “minority stake” in Protix to help the company grow.

Protix founder Kees Aarts says that they plan insect-based food for humans: “They recently launched ENOUGH, a range of insect-based snacks and culinary ingredients. There is a wealth of flavors to be discovered, he says.”

So is Tyson getting into growing bugs for human consumption or not?

“Fact checkers” apparently don’t one end of the story from another. Maybe eating insects does that to you. — Technocracy News & Trends Editor Patrick Wood

Press release from Tyson

Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE: TSN), one of the world’s largest food companies, has reached an agreement for a two-fold investment with Protix, the leading global insect ingredients company. The strategic investment will support the growth of the emerging insect ingredient industry and expand the use of insect ingredient solutions to create more efficient sustainable proteins and lipids for use in the global food system. The agreement combines Tyson Foods’ global scale, experience and network with Protix’s technology and market leadership to meet current market demand and scale production of insect ingredients.

Through a direct equity investment, Tyson Foods will acquire a minority stake in Protix to help fund its global expansion. In addition, Tyson Foods and Protix have entered a joint venture for the operation and construction of an insect ingredient facility in the continental United States. Upon completion, it will be the first at-scale facility of its kind to upcycle food manufacturing byproducts into high-quality insect proteins and lipids which will primarily be used in the pet food, aquaculture, and livestock industries.

“Our partnership with Protix represents the latest strategic investment by Tyson Foods in groundbreaking solutions that drive added value to Tyson Foods’ business,” said John R. Tyson, chief financial officer of Tyson Foods. “The insect lifecycle provides the opportunity for full circularity within our value chain, strengthening our commitment to building a more sustainable food system for the future.”

Kees Aarts, CEO of Protix, says: “We are very excited to announce the next step in our international growth strategy. Tyson Foods’ and Protix’s strategic partnership advances our joint work towards creating high-quality, more sustainable protein using innovative technology and solutions. Moreover, we can immediately use their existing byproducts as feedstock for our insects. This agreement is a major milestone for Protix and significantly accelerates our ambition to grow through international partnerships.”

The to-be-built facility in the U.S. will house an enclosed system to support all aspects of insect protein production including the breeding, incubating, and hatching of insect larvae. In addition to ingredients for the aquaculture and pet food industries, processed larvae may also be used as ingredients within livestock and plant feed.

Protix is a fully integrated insect ingredients company, producing and processing 14,000 metric tons LLE annually in its Netherlands facility which has been in operation since 2019. It serves major global companies in the pet food, aquaculture feed, livestock feed and organic fertilizer industries as the demand for insect ingredients continues to grow.

Press release from Protix

We proudly announce a strategic partnership with Tyson Foods, one of the world’s largest food companies. A major milestone for Protix and the insect industry! We are proud of this partnership which includes the formation of a joint venture for the construction of an insect ingredient facility in the United States. On top of this, Tyson Foods is investing in Protix to speed up our global expansion plans.

The strategic investment will support the growth of the emerging insect ingredient industry and expand the use of insect ingredient solutions to create more efficient sustainable proteins and lipids for use in the global food system.

This agreement is a major milestone for Protix and significantly accelerates our ambition to grow our global gross revenue to around €1bn by 2035 through international partnerships.

Collaboration is in our DNA and we specifically seek out partnerships that maximise our impact. With Tyson Foods, we are able to accelerate our mission to bring food systems back into balance with nature.