According to the United Nations World Food Program’s report this year, a staggering 345 million people worldwide are presently confronting acute food insecurity. As program director David Beasley somberly pointed out, these individuals are “on the brink of starvation.” The gravity of this food shortage has only intensified in recent times.
While food security has been declining for several decades, recent crises have worsened the situation. The COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted food supply chains, resulting in 35.5% of the population becoming food insecure for the first time, especially among low-income families. Additionally, droughts caused by climate change are depleting arable land, and the conflict in Ukraine has caused fertilizer, cooking oil, and grain prices to soar by impeding vital exports.
That would be sufficient to provide for approximately one billion additional individuals.
“Increasing the global food supply and reducing food-feed competition without the need for additional natural resources can be achieved through the more effective utilization of byproducts and residues in the food system,” stated Vilma Sandstr?m, a postdoctoral researcher at Aalto University and the lead author of a study discussing this concept, which was published in the journal Nature Food.”
The strategy of manipulating food and feed in this way is not a novel idea. Scientists have debated for years about the possibility of repurposing livestock food, with some suggesting that such competition is not a significant issue.
A distinct research conducted in 2017 discovered that 86% of dry animal feed, comprising leftovers and secondary products, is not fit for human consumption, therefore, food waste caused by feeding animals is negligible. However, the team’s latest study suggests that the remaining 14% could be somewhat flexible to enhance the food supply system as a whole. Additionally, their previous research on minimizing food waste through supply chain management expounds on how we could augment food supply up to 12%.
“Incorporating the usage of byproducts as animal feed, it could contribute to around 25% more food,” stated Matti Kummu, co-author of the study and an associate professor at Aalto University. These incremental measures might eventually have a significant impact on the food security crisis.
Does this pose any harm to animals or humans? These are the two questions that naturally arise from the proposal put forth by the team.
1. Is it morally questionable to substitute fresh animal feed with crop residues and byproducts that are leftovers from food intended for human consumption?
2. Is it advisable for humans to consume food that is traditionally reserved for animals?
Sandstr?m proposed increasing the usage of food system byproducts and residues in regions with the potential for expansion. The fact remains that these byproducts are already being extensively employed in animal feeds globally.
She also acknowledges the potential obstacle that certain byproducts may not be as nutritionally beneficial or may contain elements that decrease animal efficiency. Nevertheless, the team’s investigation factored in this possibility and discovered that “particularly in regards to cattle nourishment, it is feasible to create diets completely comprised of non-food-competing feedstuffs, even while maintaining high levels of animal productivity.”
Regarding the second issue, Sandstr?m acknowledges that a change in mindset would be necessary to introduce new food alternatives to communities. This is due to the fact that most types of fish used in livestock feed are typically small, bony species that we may not typically consume. However, Sandstr?m proposes that these fish could be canned, cured, dried, or processed in unique ways, resulting in great, affordable, and highly nutritious options for those who do not have access to more expensive fish.
In 2021, at a health center in Paoua, Central African Republic, mothers patiently wait in a queue for their children to be examined by health workers and receive nutrient pastes, as captured by Barbara Debout/AFP via Getty Images.
Despite this, the team is confident that their new global food system plan is a feasible approach to assist various individuals in need. What’s more, their strategy does not necessitate any further resource extraction. Rather, it only requires a reorganization, which is why the team labels it as a sustainable solution.
Sandstr?m stated that the present-day food system on a global scale is a significant contributor to environmental deterioration. It encompasses over a third of the planet’s land surface, accounts for 70% of freshwater usage, and results in 20% to 30% of total greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change.
Adding policy measures
While Sandstr?m and colleagues’ proposal is promising, it is not a comprehensive solution to the urgent issue of worldwide food insecurity. The surplus food supply, according to their theory, would be distributed unevenly around the globe, favoring developed nations rather than developing ones, which have a greater demand for it.
In 2020, social workers in Santiago, Chile, served food to the community through a plastic curtain at a “olla comun” kitchen. This study reveals that in North America, almost 20% of livestock feed goes toward competing with the human food supply, compared to around 16% in Europe. However, in Africa, less than 4% of animal diets consist of food grade-feed, and in Latin America, the percentage is 8%.
Therefore, it is crucial to integrate alterations in animal feed with other policy interventions such as enhanced trade links and dietary adjustments. This is the reason why the researchers undertaking the study examined every aspect of the functioning of the food web in society.
They are searching for loopholes, openings, and missed chances.
“This study marks the first-ever attempt to comprehensively collect data on global food and feed flows, encompassing both land-based and aquatic systems, and to integrate them,” Kummu stated. “This allowed us to determine the proportion of food byproducts and residues that is currently utilized, which was the initial stage in identifying the remaining untapped potential.”
