Insect-based pet food, the latest byproduct of EU bureaucracy

By Ketrin Jochecová | 05/27/2025 06:12 AM EDT

Insect producers say EU rules are choking their industry and driving it into financial ruin — with the environment paying the price.

Resident felines are being fed with canned cat food.

Insect-based pet food is marketed as hypoallergenic and more sustainable. Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images

Bug food for pets was never Plan A — it’s the last resort for insect producers to stay afloat.

They blame EU bureaucracy.

“I wake up every morning for the fish, not to feed the pets,” said Sébastien Crépieux, CEO of Invers, a French insect producer based in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes that grows mealworms in cooperation with local farmers.

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He explains that most insect producers started with the idea of replacing protein in fishmeal used to feed farmed fish with a more sustainable source — such as insects. Fishmeal is usually made from fish processing waste and forage fish like anchovies or sardines, and contributes to overfishing and biodiversity loss.

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