The Black Soldier Fly and Addressing the World’s Growing Protein Demand with Insects is the Future - Michael Badeski // Co-founder of INSEACT

Disruptors for GOOD | Social Entrepreneurs and Social Enterprises

In Episode 156 of the Disruptors for Good podcast, Causeartist contributor, Rafael Aldon, speaks with Michael Badeski, COO of INSEACT, on the black soldier fly and the mission to provide sustainable and healthy food sources for the world through innovative technologies.

Almost all seafood is farmed, and almost all farmed seafood uses wild-caught fish as the protein component of feed.

INSEACT changes this by replacing fish protein with insect protein. INSEACT grows black soldier fly larvae fed with waste from the palm oil industry that was otherwise destined for landfill. INSEACT's unique protein application in shrimp aquaculture performs more profitably than traditional feed options.

This improved performance allows INSEACT to achieve impact at scale, with a focus in Asia. The high-performance protein product INSEACT offers diverts agri-waste back from landfill back into the foodstream to close the circular economy loop.

The INSEAD mission is to provide sustainable and healthy food sources for the world through innovative technologies.

The founders met at INSEAD MBA, have a background in food entrepreneurship and industrial scale-up, and previously worked at the European market leader in insect protein.

Michael is a former engineer consultant at a global top 10 engineering firm where he designed industrial facilities such as algae production factories. He has also scaled a venture-backed B2B startup and serves as advisor for a VC firm’s portfolio companies. As INSEACT’s COO, Michael is in charge of operations and insect protein production. Michael holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from McGill University and an MBA from INSEAD.