Ballad of the Mighty Mealworm
![](https://prod.wp.cdn.aws.wfu.edu/sites/493/2018/04/Work-Forest-1.gif)
![](https://prod.wp.cdn.aws.wfu.edu/sites/493/2023/04/Mealworms-Infographic-full.gif)
BALLAD OF THE MIGHTY MEALWORM
Styrofoam is an environmental danger and food insecurity is a human crisis. Wake Forest faculty and students believe one organism with a strange name can help with both issues.
Mealworms are worm-like larvae of a particular type of beetle, and curiously enough, they consider Styrofoam a delicacy. So biology professor Bill Conner and five students designed a vertical garden to raise the creatures. Mealworms can break down plastic, and they can serve as a food source for people in developing countries. Their waste can generate fertilizer worldwide.
It’s a win all around. Even if the name sounds funny.