The feed sector’s journey towards sustainability is pivotal in mitigating its environmental impact. Through advancements in ingredient sourcing, efficient production practices, and rigorous waste management, the industry is poised to significantly reduce its footprint. Embracing technologies like precision nutrition and circular economy principles, it has the potential to not only lessen resource consumption but also curb emissions and habitat degradation.
Co-CEO and Co-Founder
Nutrition Technologies
In the quest for a more sustainable future, industries across the board are undergoing profound transformations, and the feed sector is no exception. As a critical component of global agriculture, responsible for supplying the vast majority of the world’s livestock with essential nutrients, the feed industry plays a pivotal role in our food supply chain. However, it has long grappled with issues of environmental impact, resource inefficiency, and ethical concerns surrounding animal welfare.
The pressing need for change is evident, as climate change, deforestation, and biodiversity loss threaten the delicate balance of our planet’s ecosystems. The feed sector’s journey towards sustainability is a multifaceted endeavour, encompassing a range of strategies from ingredient sourcing and production practices to waste management and regulatory compliance.
As we delve into the challenges faced by the feed industry, we can examine key initiatives and innovations that hold promise for reducing its environmental footprint. Moreover, we should also consider the broader implications of a sustainable feed industry, and understand how it contributes to a more resilient and responsible global food system. As stakeholders and consumers alike demand more accountability from the agricultural sector, the transformation of the feed industry becomes not only a necessity, but a beacon of hope for a greener, more sustainable future.
UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), animal husbandry has contributed to 9% of anthropogenic carbon emissions while emitting 37% of anthropogenic methane, 65% of anthropogenic nitrous oxide, and 64% of anthropogenic nitrogen.
Where previously there was a general awareness that there is a problem associated with the feed supply chain, there is also now a growing understanding of the root cause of some of these issues, and identification of the hotspots – key ingredients that contribute to these climate impacts, and more recently, what can be done to reduce or remove them from the supply chain.
SETTING TARGETS & STRATEGIES
Major feed players including; Skretting, Biomar and Grobest have published and widely circulated sustainability strategies, many of which highlight alternative proteins as one of the keys to reducing emissions, often identifying insects, single-cell and algal protein sources as alternatives to traditional protein sources. However, ingredients marketed as ‘sustainable’ are not given a free pass. Rigorous vetting of sustainability claims are being carried out by Skretting & MARS Petcare (amongst others), ensuring that any sustainability value propositions are backed-up by LifeCycle Assessments (LCAs) carried out by legitimate 3rd parties, and which follow strict methodologies.
Moreover, ambitious carbon reduction targets are also now in play, not only at the feed producer level, but also amongst the major distributors. AB Agri/Livalta are active members of the Global Feed LCA Institute (GFLI) and helped to build the Global Feed Database, which can be used to evaluate the environmental impact of feed produced around the world. Valerie Schuster, Managing Director of Livalta says “We are using this database to assess and formulate our products, as a step towards net zero in our own operations as well as a net zero industry. We are actively engaging with producers of more sustainable feed ingredients. We’ve seen the demand in the sector increase recently, and expect to continue growing our portfolio of sustainable products in the coming years”. Where major distributors have emissions reduction targets, the availability of low-carbon and environmentally sustainable products will become more available to feed producers, accelerating the flywheel of progress even further.
AVAILABILITY & ADOPTION
Options are now becoming available, and being adopted. Not at the scale or speed that the industry is asking for, but single cell, algae-based, and insect-based meal & oil products are now available on the market in commercial quantities. Located all around the world, these ingredient manufacturers take advantage of local conditions to optimise productivity, where warm temperatures and bright sunshine often facilitates faster, more efficient growth, reducing the need for expensive heating or lighting solutions that might be required for production in more temperate regions.
Similar to traditional feed production, the main driver across almost all impact categories in the production of insect meal is from the on-site processes (machinery operations, industrial steam, vehicle fuel, etc), followed by the raw materials being fed to the insect larvae. Interestingly, downstream shipping of insect meal & oil to destinations around the world only adds a small fraction to the total climate impact, and as logistics companies execute their own footprint reduction strategies, this is likely to fall even further.
DEEP DIVE ON INSECTS
Looking specifically at the production of Black Soldier Fly (BSF) – an insect endemic throughout the tropics – you can compare the energy requirements of a tropical system vs a European or North American one. As a tropical insect, in order for the insects to breed, lay eggs and grow efficiently, they need warm humid air and bright sunshine year-round. While this is the ambient climate in Southeast Asia and much of Africa, BSF production outside of the tropics requires significant energy inputs (up to 33% of total energy consumption) to recreate these conditions, by installing energy intensive heating & lighting systems.
Drilling-down into the detail of the raw materials, those inputs that could otherwise have been used for direct animal feed, such as wheat bran, corn gluten meal, and rice bran carry the heaviest environmental footprint, and those that aren’t otherwise viable feed ingredients, such as palm decanter cake (PDC) or used coffee grounds generally have the lightest footprint. In addition to the direct climate impact implications, we should also consider the fact that in some parts of the world many of the ingredients currently being used for larvae feed are being diverted away from existing use in animal feed, rather than upcycling nutrients from material that would otherwise be lost or low-level recycled in compost. So, an important question to ask insect producers is not only “what do you feed your insects”, but also “Could those materials be used in direct animal feed?”
APPLICATIONS IN AQUAFEED
The production of fish meal from fish residues has a climate change impact of around 1.43 kg CO2-eq per kg of fishmeal (location and source dependent). Based on LCA data from a number of BSF producers, replacing this fishmeal with insect meal can reduce the climate impact of producing shrimp feed. Even more interestingly, insect meal is frequently proven to reduce the FCR in shrimp trials, therefore compounding the benefits of the lower carbon footprint with a lower overall demand for feed.
Although pelagic fishmeal (such as Peruvian anchovy) generally has a lower carbon footprint than even insect meal, as feed manufacturers aim to reduce their inclusion of virgin marine ingredients, they rely more heavily on fish processing residues, which have a significantly higher environmental footprint. This transition to fish processing residues benefits overall ocean health, but then increases overall carbon emissions. By replacing either type of fishmeal with insect meal, manufacturers have the opportunity to avoid both negative ocean and climate impacts.
SUMMARY
In conclusion, the feed sector’s journey towards sustainability is pivotal in mitigating its environmental impact. Through advancements in ingredient sourcing, efficient production practices, and rigorous waste management, the industry is poised to significantly reduce its footprint. Embracing technologies like precision nutrition and circular economy principles, it has the potential to not only lessen resource consumption but also curb emissions and habitat degradation. As the feed sector strides towards a more sustainable future, it not only addresses its own environmental challenges but also sets a crucial example for the broader agricultural landscape. This transformation is not just desirable; it is imperative for a greener, more harmonious planet.
About Nick Piggott
Nick Piggott is a co-founder and Co-CEO of Nutrition Technologies, an industrial-scale BSF manufacturer based in South East Asia. With a background in Life Sciences, Piggott was exposed to the challenges of food security whilst working for the UN in West Africa, and the company has since developed insect-based feed-ingredients for the livestock and aquaculture industries to address this issue. Nick Piggott is the industry-side face of Nutrition Technologies, overseeing the product, regulatory, & client side of the business, ensuring that the organization maintains constant awareness of the competitive & regulatory landscape, market trends, technology developments and industry standards.
