Roast them, fry them, smother one in chocolate… There are many ways to enjoy the subtle taste notes of a well-seasoned cricket or mealworm—but for four women working at an insect farm in South Florida, these critters mean more to them than just a sustainable source of protein.

In this character-driven documentary directed by Lydia Cornett, Bug Farm follows four employees—Maria, Dorinda, Porscha, and Tequila—who have formed an unlikely kinship with the insects they raise and protect. The film follows them over the course of a day at the insect farm, exploring their reasons for working with insects and the unlikely community they find at their workplace.

“After reading Rachel Carson’s seminal book Silent Spring, I became interested in the way that industrial agriculture has been at war with the world’s insect population for decades,” says the director. “In the United States, crop pests were aggressively targeted with chemical pesticides until the 1960s, which created long-lasting, deadly repercussions for all facets of the biosphere. But the 21st century has seen a new type of relationship form between farming, insects, and the environment; a niche industry focused on producing an alternative protein and reducing our carbon footprint, treating insects as an ecological solution instead of an agricultural obstacle.”

The insect farm in LaBelle, Florida is made up of farmers, entomologists, engineers, and entrepreneurs working towards a more sustainable future. Not only do they specialize in providing high-quality superworms, discoid roaches, and crickets to zoos, aquariums, breeders, and pet stores, but they also engage in entomological outreach designed to broaden the agricultural supply chain.

“When I began researching insect farms, I wanted to understand who, at an individual level, was leading this movement on the ground. Media coverage of insect farming often depicts the profession as an obscure agricultural trend, a boutique edible delicacy, or a Silicon-Valley-backed experiment,” says Cornett.

Bug Farm offers a unique perspective of an industry at the crossroads of big agriculture and technology. Not only does this documentary reveal how people are finding new economic opportunities but it also gives us a glimpse of the people who will be shaping the future of food.

The director continues, “I knew this depiction was excluding a larger narrative, so I dug deeper into the people at the center of this industry. I hope that Bug Farm––through the exploration of relations and care in a space of labor––offers a deeper look at the disparate and powerful motivations that drive those who find purpose in this burgeoning industry.”