Consuming insects has gone from a completely objectionable concept to a feasible curiosity as a sustainable food source. The Lepsis has already been introduced as a prototype, and now a new home insect growing/harvesting apparatus has been proposed. While the aforementioned device bred grasshoppers, Farm 432 uses the black soldier fly.

Before you dismiss the idea, realize that “black soldier fly larvae are one of the most efficient protein converters in insects, containing up to 42% of protein, a lot of calcium and amino acids,” a fact Austrian designer Katharina Unger mentioned in an interview with Dezeen. The unit first matures a batch of larva, then allows the flies to mate. Farm 432 is almost completely self-sustainable; while most of the resulting larva is used for consumption, some is returned to repeat the process.

“Farm 432 enables people to turn against the dysfunctional system of current meat production by growing their own protein source,” Unger went on to add. By 2050 the population increase will demand a 50 percent hike in meat production. Hopefully appliances like the Lepsis and Farm 432 will help curb this need.

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Soon the crunch of a cricket between your teeth will be as unmistakable as that of a potato chip. If this thought churns your stomach, consider the ever-snowballing global food crisis. The Lepsis hopes to reduce this problem.

The Lepsis is a terrarium that breeds edible insects right in your own home. It contains everything needed to process grasshoppers, from growing to preparing them for edibility. Designer Mansour Ourasanah developed the Lepsis with the help of KitchenAid. Insects make an excellent food source thanks to their protein content and the fact that they reproduce quickly and in great numbers, and there is a seemingly infinite variety of them.

Ourasanah took notice of a recent UN report that recommends the consumption of insects on a more global scale. Regional and international stigmas exist regarding the consumption of insects as a source of protein, even though 80% of the world already does so. Ourasanah hopes introducing the Lepsis to urban environments will help break these stigmas. “In order to move toward a sustainable future, we must do away with our culinary hangups and redefine the paradigm of food,” he says.

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