ARTICLE 38 F&A Alternative Proteins Edition April 2023 However, other direct and indirect ecological impacts caused by the production of the major incumbent feed ingredients are often poorly factored into sustainability accounting methods based on carbon dioxide emissions. The best documented ecological effects associated with animal feed production relate to the production of the primary protein ingredient by volume, soybeans, and include the sometimes irreversible biodiversity losses and soil erosion associated with mass deforestation of global rainforests. Unfortunately, such practices are an all too familiar preparation step for environmentally intensive agriculture methods associated with many large-scale soy production systems, which are themselves often implicated in the pollution of local water courses. Furthermore, the destruction of deep-sea environments through aggressive trawling methods means that the production of fishmeal, the second most prevalent protein inclusion in animal feeds, is little better ecologically. The good news is that animal feed can be produced sustainably in terms of carbon footprint and ecological impact. Crucially, this enables sustainable food production without requiring a seismic population-level change to people’s current diets to achieve this. The choice of veganism, vegetarianism, and reduced meat consumption empowers individuals to materially reduce their personal environmental impacts. However, the scale and pace of societal change required to mitigate the effects of the (un)sustainability of today's human diet on a population level need us to consider new solutions to improve the sustainability of all existing diets. SUSTAINABLE ALTERNATIVES ARE ON THE HORIZON Insect meal is the sustainable alternative that has received the most public attention. The industry perception of this ingredient is that it’s palatable and has a place in larger animal feed markets due to its nutritional profile. As a result, it is approaching the point of being commercially available at scale. Secondary traditional waste streams, such as meals derived from farming wastes like blood and feathers, are already well established in various animal feed markets as more sustainable supplements to the primary bulk feed ingredients, soy and fishmeal. However, these are limited in scalability due to reliance on their respective primary industries. Single-cell protein is an umbrella term covering many potentially excellent ingredient alternatives. Some single-cell proteins, such as those derived
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