This review is focusing on effects of inclusion of insect products in pig diets on digestibility, performance, product quality, and health parameters. In 2019 pig feed accounts for 23% of the global feed production. Soybean meal is the most common protein source in pig diets. A shift towards more sustainable feed ingredients can improve the sustainability of entire pig production. Novel protein sources currently evaluated in diets for piglets and growing pigs are insect-based ingredients. Insects are able to convert organic biomass into high-quality protein. Currently the use of insects as protein source in pig diets is not allowed due to transmissible spongiform encephalopathies regulation but it is expected that this will be allowed in the near future. Research efforts on effects of inclusion of insect products on nutrient digestibility, growth performance, product quality and pig health are therefore increasing. Nutrient digestibility of evaluated insect proteins was comparable with traditional protein sources. Nutrient digestibility of insect-based diets as well as effects on growth performance in pigs fed insect-based diets differed between studies. The differences in responses are mainly due to changes in diet ingredients and nutrient composition when insect products are included. Health related parameters were not affected by dietary inclusion of insect products. In general it can be stated that differences in results between studies may be due to different insect species and life stages being used, differences in nutritional value of the insect products, in dietary inclusion levels, in processing techniques applied, effects on palatability of the diet, (weaning) age of the animals involved and research methods applied. Overall, insect products seem to be a good alternative to partly replace traditional protein-rich ingredients in pig diets without adversely affecting growth performance, product quality and health, but more standardised research is required to reduce differences between studies.
In the discourse about the development of farmed animal production (terrestrial livestock production and aquaculture) in the tropics, two important food system outcomes emerge: (1) to supply animal-sourced food (ASF) at a level that suffices healthy future diets, including for poor people, and (2) to contribute to climate change mitigation and minimize pollution with nitrogen and phosphorus. Livestock production and aquaculture contribute to food security directly by increasing producers’ food diversity and availability, but also that of urban consumers, and indirectly through income generation and increased farm resilience. Recently, circularity has come to the fore as an integrated approach to food system development. Circularity has four cornerstones: (1) food crops have highest priority (which implies no food-feed competition), (2) avoid losses, (3) recycle waste and (4) use animals to unlock biomass that humans cannot eat. In this review, the role of farmed animals in circular food systems in the tropics is presented in four case studies and the impacts of circularity on food security and environmental impact mitigation are discussed. The cases are ruminants in grazing systems in West Africa and in Colombia, fish in pond aquaculture in general, and land-limited dairy production in Indonesia. Additionally, options for novel protein sources for use in livestock and fish feeding are presented. It is concluded that farmed animals are important in circular food systems because of their use of land unsuited for crop production, their upgrading of crop residues, and their supply of manure to crop production. Nevertheless, the increasing demand for ASF puts pressure on important characteristics of circularity, such as minimizing food-feed competition, maximization of use of waste streams in feed, and the value of manure for fertilization. Hence, in line with conclusions for Western countries, maximum circularity and sustainability of food systems can only be achieved by optimizing the population size of animals. Thus, a sustainable contribution of ASF production to global food security is complex and in not only a technical matter or outcome of an economic process balancing supply and demand. It requires governance for which public, private, and social actors need to partner.
Low to mid altitude Sorghum alum (Columbus grass) Low to mid altitude Cenchrus ciliaris (Buffel grass) Low to mid altitude Legumes Vicia dasycarpa (Vetch) High to mid altitudes Trifolium spp, (annuals & perennials clovers) High to mid altitude Melilotus altisimus High to mid altitude Lotus maizeiculatus (Birdsfoot trefoil) High-altitude Medicago sativa (Lucerne, Alfalfa) High to low altitude Lablab purpureus (Lablab) Mid to low altitude Vigna unguiculata (Cowpea) Mid to low altitude Desmodium intortum (Green leaf Desmodium) Mid to low altitudes
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