The performance of the feed industry supplying the European Union’s broiler chickens is falling outside the bloc’s own sustainability targets — strengthening the case for greater integration of alternative feeds such as insects.
Research by experts across the continent analysed the environmental impact of each feed consumed by the chicken meat industry between 2007 and 2018, finding that despite improvements in resource efficiency, the sector is still resulting in considerable environmental burden both inside and outside the EU.
Increased chicken demand saw a 17% increase in cropland used to grow feed products, while huge amounts of inorganic fertilisers were applied to grow the crops every year.
A need for alternatives
Although the solution to compliance with sustainability targets is multi-faceted, the researchers pointed to the potential of insects as a non-crop alternative feed, especially if waste products are used to rear insects rather than require cultivated crops, and the industry produces valuable side-streams such as fertilisers from insect faeces.
“Increasing the use of alternative poultry feeds will be fundamental to improve the sustainability level of the related meat. The benefit derives not only from avoiding the production of crops specifically cultivated (and the related impact), but it will also derive from the positive externality linked to the curbing of the feed-food competition for natural resources,” said Fabio Sporchia of Aarhus University, the lead author of the study, published in the journal Science of the Total Environment.
“On top of this, if alternative solutions derive from upcycled waste material this could represent a win-win solution by avoiding the impact from the production of feed, but also avoiding the impact from traditional waste management practices.”
Beating barriers
Despite the need for change, the EU’s legislation currently limits the use of insects as feed, as well the use of non-vegetable feedstuffs for their rearing.
Aside from insects, other options to replace the protein provided by soybean meal include the use of lupins or a mix of dried distillers’ grains with solubles, sunflower meal and corn gluten meal. However, neither of these represent perfect solutions, Sporchia said, and more work is needed to identify options that could completely replace soya in broiler diets.
“Changing a well-established industry is not an easy or immediate task. There are multiple barriers that hinder this transition,” said Dario Caro from the European Commission, who was also involved in the work.
“A first barrier is represented by the farmers’ acceptance of the available alternatives. A second barrier is the consumer’s acceptance, which could be limited by the attachment to culture and traditions, particularly considering solutions including insect-based feeds. The other two barriers are the current regulation and the potential implementation cost for alternatives.”
