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Insectflux: Converting Organic Waste into Assets; Building Circular Economies Through Insect Farming

SpeakerJason Elate
In briefAI summary — tap to read

Jason Elate presented Insectflux, a tech startup that connects the agri-food industry with insect farming to create a circular economy by converting organic waste into valuable products. The platform enables farms, grocers, and restaurants to sell or donate food waste as insect feed while insect farmers produce feed, insect-based products (fertilizers, bioplastics, cosmetics), and insects for animal or human consumption.

Key takeaways

  • Insectflux is building a digital marketplace connecting food waste producers with insect farms that need affordable feed, solving a critical gap in the largely offline, fragmented insect farming industry.
  • Black soldier flies and other insect species can process diverse organic waste including spoiled produce and byproducts, converting them into high-quality protein feed and bio-fertilizer while reducing landfill dumping costs.
  • The business model creates mutual value: agri-food players monetize waste instead of paying disposal fees, while insect farmers gain consistent, affordable feed sources that improve product quality and reliability.
  • Jason emphasizes psychology and education are essential to shifting public perception of insects beyond viewing them as pests, focusing narrative on pest control and bio-fertilizer benefits before promoting insects as food.
  • The company is pursuing a systematic approach: first digitizing and consolidating the insect industry with an expert services marketplace, then integrating agri-food waste sources, followed by a digital hub to enable ecosystem coordination.

About Jason ElateJason Elate is a 25-year-old entrepreneur from Montreal, Canada, with a double major in politics and economics. He founded Insectflux to address the global food waste crisis by connecting agri-food industries with insect farming.

AI-generated from the meeting recording — AI can make mistakes, so check the recording for anything important.

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Program: Insectflux: Converting Organic Waste into Assets; Building Circular Economies Through Insect Farming

Speaker: Jason Elate

We bring you a new program every week on innovation, entrepreneurship, and education and how they contribute to service to others.

In a world where one-third of all food produced goes to waste, Insectflux introduces a groundbreaking solution at the intersection of technology, agriculture, and sustainability. This presentation explores how Insectflux, the world’s first global B2B2C marketplace, connects the agri-food industry with the insect-farming sector to transform organic waste into high-value resources, such as protein, fertilizer, oils, and bioproducts.

Here’s how the platform works:
→ Food producers (farms, restaurants, processors, grocery chains, hotels, etc.) list their organic byproducts, surplus, and waste.
→ Insect farms buy and use these inputs to raise black soldier flies, crickets, mealworms, etc., producing sustainable outputs like protein and fertilizer.
→ These products are then sold on the same platform to buyers in biotech, aquaculture, regenerative agriculture, pet food, cosmetics, and more, closing the loop within a zero-waste, circular economy.

By linking two industries facing parallel challenges, Insectflux exemplifies how systemic innovation can unlock abundance and resilience for the planet. They're bringing to reality the idea that nothing is lost, nothing is wasted, and everything is transformed.

Our speaker, Jason Elate, is the founder and CEO of Insectflux, a climate-tech startup redefining how the world tackles the global food waste crisis. With a double major in Politics and Economics, Jason initially set out to become a diplomat but pivoted before entering the corporate world to build something bold: a company that addresses real global problems with real, scalable solutions.

Through Insectflux, Jason is creating a global digital ecosystem connecting the $10T agri-food sector with the rapidly growing $2.5B insect-farming industry. His mission is to digitize, democratize, and decarbonize food systems while enabling new circular economies worldwide. He believes there is already enough abundance on this planet; the key lies in building better systems to unlock it.

Members and guests, please welcome Jason Elate!

To learn more, go to:
https://www.insectflux.com/en/home

To learn more about Jason, go to:
- Linkedin:
Jason Elate
- Instagram: Jason.Elate

To learn more about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley, go to:
http://rotary.cool


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