Worldwide, high profile billionaires are pouring money into the space race. According to Euroconsult’s Government Space Programs 2019 report, $70.9 billion was spent on government space programs around the world in 2018. Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin are at the top of the global private space exploration companies. Musk, in his own words, is “highly confident” that SpaceX will deliver humans and cargo to Mars by 2026. A challenge often overlooked among the difficulties of safely reaching such spatial distance is food source. There’s a cannabis company that is coming up with the solution. 

Insectergy, LLC has been building a patent portfolio for insect production systems for insects of the Orthoptera order that create foodstuff containing cannabinoids and other flavorings and supplements since August 2016. Since then, Insectergy has attained 38 patent assets – some for cultivars, cannabinoid biosynthesis, and cannabis farming, but most for insect production systems that biosynthesize cannabinoids in the chosen insect through its feedstock. The intention is to provide nutritious foodstuff to people living in space. Crickets, along with many other insects, are dense in great nutrients, easy to farm, and cheap – making it an attractive option. It’s hard to assess the value of the portfolio just yet as Insectergy has very little public information available. A logo trademark was filed in November 2019 for Insectergy by its primary inventor Daniel Michael of Baltimore, MD suggesting commercial interest. Even finding information on Mr. Michael comes up empty. We are not sure if Musk or Branson have a taste for insects but if they want sustainable space travel, they might have to acquire a taste. Bezos has been seen munching on bizarre foods like cockroaches so it is in his realm. 

Whether SpaceX, Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin are interested in acquiring or investing in a company like Insectergy remains unclear. We think they’ll consider it being that insects pack nutrition, are lightweight and cheap to maintain. The cost of sending one pound into Earth’s orbit is $10,000 – they’re going to have to make some crucial decisions if near-future Mars colonization is what they desire. Find more interesting insights like this using the Cannabis Patent Forecast®.