Biblical Protein’s locust are farmed by Hargol FoodTech in Northern Israel. The locust are grown in a closed environment and so does their feed to ensure high-quality and maintain the highest food safety standards.
Biblical Protein products are sold on our online store. Currently, we ship to customers in the USA, most European countries, Australia and Israel.
Yes, locust are mentioned in the Bible in Leviticus 22:11 as the only kosher approved insect. They are also considered to be parve (not meat or dairy).
Locusts are grasshoppers! They are part of a large group of insects commonly called grasshoppers which have big hind legs for jumping. Locusts are a unique grasshopper species that can change their behavior and habits and migrate over large distances.
During swarming, locusts may spread over an enormous area covering almost 29 million square kilometers, extending over parts of 60 countries. This is more than 20% of the total land surface of the world and they have the potential to damage the livelihood of more than a tenth of the world’s population.
A locust lives a total of about three to five months. This is extremely variable and depends mostly on weather and ecological conditions. The life cycle comprises of three stages: egg, hopper and adult. Hoppers develop in five to six stages over a period of about 30-40 days, and adults mature in about three weeks to nine months but more frequently from two to four months.
Hargol FoodTech’s farms have improved conditions to accelerate the cycle to less than 30 days.
Female locusts lay their eggs in an egg pod primarily in sandy soils. A female lays about 40-150 eggs in an egg pod and can lay at least three times in their lifetime, usually in intervals of about 6-11 days.
Locusts fly with the wind at a speed of about 10 mph depending on the wind. Swarms can travel over 100 miles in a day. Locusts can stay in the air for long periods of time.
Examples: Locusts regularly cross the Red Sea, a distance of 300 km. In the past, there have been some spectacular and very long-distance swarm migrations from northwest Africa to the British Isles in 1954 and from west Africa to the Caribbean, a distance of 5,000 km in ten days in 1988.
Locust swarms can cover several hundred square miles. There can be 100 to 200 million locust adults in each square mile of swarm!
A locust adult can consume its own weight in fresh food per day. A swarm the size of New York City eats in one day the same as everyone in New York and California.
As locust increase in number and become more crowded, they change their behavior from that of acting as an individual (solitarious) insect to that as acting as part of a group (gregarious). The locust’s appearance also changes.
◦ Desert locust (Schistocerca Gregaria)
◦ African Migratory locust (Locusta migratoria migratorioides)
◦ Oriental Migratory locust (Locusta migratoria manilensis)
◦ Red locust (Nomadacris septemfasciata)
◦ Brown locust (Locustana pardalina)
◦ Italian locust (Calliptamus italicus)
◦ Moroccan locust (Dociostaurus maroccanus)
◦ Bombay locust (Nomadacris succincta)
◦ Australian Plague locust (Chortoicetes terminifera)
◦ Tree locusts (Anacridium sp.)
Locusts do not attack people or animals. There is no evidence that suggests that locusts carry diseases that could harm humans.
Yes, locust and other grasshopper species are considered a popular delicacy in many countries around the world. People collect locusts and grasshoppers using large nets, light traps and by other means. They are usually stir-fried, roasted or boiled and eaten immediately or dried and eaten later. Locusts and grasshoppers are considered a popular national delicacy in many countries.
About 70% of the dry weight of an adult locust is protein, 10% isfat, and the remainder is omega-3, omega-6, iron, zinc and folic acid.
Locust are insects and are related to the crustacean family.
We conduct frequent tests of allergens that so far showed no findings.
However, we prefer to notify our customers that there may be an impact and therefor add a warning of shellfish allergens (There is no shellfish in our products).
We continuously research our product in order to be able in the near future to ensure customers are allergens free.