Cockroaches Are Beneficial to Humans

Cockroaches are a major nuisance to many people. While they may be ugly and smelly, they can also carry a number of potentially deadly bacterial infections. In China, one farmer is converting these bugs into a lucrative industry. A company called the Gooddoctor Pharmaceutical Group is running one of the largest cockroach farms in the world, and it uses artificial intelligence to control the population of these insects. In addition to animal feed, some of the roaches are being sold to pharmaceutical companies for use in making drugs.

Cockroaches were first discovered in the jungles of Costa Rica, where their common ancestor survived the breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea. They are known to carry 30 kinds of bacteria, including typhoid fever, cholera, and dysentery. These bacteria can be inhaled through the air they breathe.

Although cockroaches can be a nuisance, their massive benefits to the human ecosystem far outweigh their negatives. There are more than 4,500 different species of cockroaches in the world, and 99.7% of these insects don’t live with humans. Some roach species are even helpful to the environment.

The cockroach has many medicinal uses, and some pharmaceutical companies use it as a source of proteins and Vitamin B12. Cockroach feces are an essential part of the nitrogen cycle and deposit nitrogen back into the soil. Another way cockroaches are beneficial to humans is their ability to produce powerful antibiotics that can fight off even antibiotic-resistant bacteria.