INTERVIEW F&A Alternative Proteins Edition April 2023 13 years. What is the real meaning of this? Why is consuming the same resources considered a serious problem? This is an interesting question. A common misconception we see in the industry is the belief that humans and animals compete for the same resources. In fact, according to the 1st Feed Sustainability Charter progress report (2021) of the European Feed Manufacturers' Federation (FEFAC), 96% of the grains, soybean products or pulses are grown specifically for animal feed production and are of a quality standard that does not meet the standards required for human consumption. This tells us that it is not the cereal itself, nor its availability, that are causing friction, but rather the use of arable land. The challenge of feeding an additional two billion people in a mere 30 more years is placing increased demand on our planet’s resources. The industry is trying to find ways to produce more protein with fewer resources. We need to find a way to manage a growing population’s demand for more food with the planet’s limited land resources for a long time to come. When it comes to utilizing arable land, we need to look at opportunities to reduce the amount land required to produce cereals for animal consumption, which will allow more land to be used for food-grade cereals. This means we need to look at other sources of feed ingredients, like by-products from the food- and beverage industry, grain by-products and increasing feed efficiency (feeding lower amounts while maintaining production performance). When we think that we need more food to feed the growing world population, but our natural resources are limited, is there a way to use the available resources more efficiently? For example, what is the way to separate our resources from animals directly or indirectly? There are abundant opportunities to achieve more sustainable protein production and feed a growing population. Various initiatives, such as applying digital farming strategies, the development of fermentation-based and cell-based protein or incorporating insects in animal and human food are developing rapidly. All of these approaches help answer the immense question of how to provide healthy nutrients to feed all of earth's inhabitants. With Selko, the feed additive brand of Nutreco, we play our part in this big picture, by upscaling by-streams from the food- and beverage industry. Keeping in mind the 'food waste hierarchy' of the
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