Farm 432 Maggot Machine

Before I dive too deep into the actual gadget pictured above, a fly larvae breeding farm, I want to tell my timely story.  Last night we opened our trash can to find it covered in tiny fruit fly larvae.  AKA little maggots.  My first instinct was to throw the entire trash can into the nearest dumpster and buy another.  The wife talked me off the ledge and we spent the next hour hosing and bleaching the trashcan until it was maggot free.  Disgusting.  First world problem?

This gadget pictured above is attempting to do what my trashcan was doing, raise fly larvae, but for food.  Second world problem!  Katharina Unger, a designer and Fullbright scholar, wants to solve the problem of overpopulation and food shortages with fly larvae (maggots).  This gadget is the Farm 432 and is a breeding area for fly larvae.  In about 432 hours (hence the Farm 432 name) 1 gram of fly eggs can turn into 5.3lbs of edible maggots.  While this sounds disgusting to most western people bugs are often a staple in poorer countries.  In fact, maggots are 72% protein.  More pictures of this maggot farm after the break.