An untapped resource for feeding the future

Friday, March 14, 2025

Media Contact: Jordan Bishop | Editor, Department of Brand Management | 405-744-7193 | jordan.bishop@okstate.edu

When Dr. Aaron T. Dossey was a student volunteer building cages for the Oklahoma State University insect zoo, he never imagined that some of those same insects would one day become his life’s work and potentially revolutionize how the world sees food.

However, Dossey wasn’t an entomology major; his background was in biochemistry. But that didn't deter him.

“I used to volunteer at the insectary over there,” Dossey said. “I even built some of the cages that I think they still use.”

As founder and president of All Things Bugs LLC and author of the textbook “Insects as Sustainable Food Ingredients.” Dossey transformed his lifelong passion for insects into a business that uses sustainable insect protein to address global food insecurity challenges.

All Things Bugs was founded in 2011 and became the world’s first wholesaler of insect-based food ingredients. The company specializes in cricket powder, which it creates with a patented spray-drying process that has been on the market since 2013.

Dossey’s journey from biochemist to entrepreneur wasn’t exactly planned. After graduating from OSU in 2001 with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, he went to the University of Florida’s College of Medicine for graduate school.

“I actually started the company out of desperation for a career,” Dossey said. “I thought I could get more interviews by getting funding. That actually didn’t work.”

What did work was when he noticed an opportunity at a scientific conference in 2010, where some researchers were presenting the possibility of insects as a food source. When a foundation grant came along from that symposium, Dossey took a leap of faith.

“I was sitting at a McAlister’s Deli writing, and I thought, ‘I can do this, it’s just two pages,’” Dossey said.

However, having a current place of employment was a requirement for the application. Thinking fast, Dossey decided to found his own company. That decision launched him into the then uncharted territory of insect protein production, where All Things Bugs has now received over $5 million in funding and patents.

Compared to traditional protein, both animal and plant, Dossey said that insect protein is much more sustainable. Insects require less water, food and land, plus they’re also more efficient at converting food into edible biomass.

“They’re cold-blooded, so they don’t produce heat,” Dossey said. “They’re using it all to build their muscles and make fat and protein inside their bodies.”

Although there are challenges in creating insect protein, Dossey doesn’t believe it has to do with people being squeamish. He believes the issue lies in access and cost.

“Consumer perception is not a problem,” Dossey said. “There are plenty of people who will try it, especially when they get a little information and education about the efficiencies, the nutritional benefits and the safety.”

Major food companies like Nestlé and General Mills have purchased cricket powder from All Things Bugs for research and development. Dossey said they were planning to launch a cricket-based cereal in 2020 and contacted him to buy ingredients. PepsiCo also had early interest, buying Dossey’s cricket powder in 2014.

“It really came down to the cost of the ingredient,” Dossey said. “It was 20 bucks a pound, and they’re used to paying $5 or less for protein.”

Dossey has also founded the Invertebrate Studies Institute, a nonprofit with the goal of sequencing the genomes of all insect species on Earth. Both All Things Bugs and the Invertebrate Studies Institute are currently looking for investors.

“It’s estimated to sequence every species of organism on Earth, to get the biological blueprint of everything, is about three or four billion dollars,” Dossey said.

As for the future of insect protein, Dossey is optimistic despite the challenges.

“It’s inevitable that they’re gonna be part of our food supply,” Dossey said. “It just makes too much sense.”

Story By: Mak Vandruff | makenzie.vandruff@okstate.edu