A global foresight on food crop needs for livestock

Cotty, Tristan Le; Dorin, Bruno

doi:10.1017/s1751731112000377

Cited by 18 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 7 publications

(12 reference statements)

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“…diabetes and heart disease) (Hu, 2011, Tilman and Clark, 2014). Changes in livestock production practices and animal genetics may increase efficiencies to offset some of these effects (Havlík et al, 2014, Le Cotty and Dorin, 2012), but may be insufficient to do so completely.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Losses, inefficiencies and waste in the global food system

Alexander

Brown

Arneth

et al. 2017

Agricultural Systems

390

208

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Losses at every stage in the food system influence the extent to which nutritional requirements of a growing global population can be sustainably met. Inefficiencies and losses in agricultural production and consumer behaviour all play a role. This paper aims to understand better the magnitude of different losses and to provide insights into how these influence overall food system efficiency. We take a systems view from primary production of agricultural biomass through to human food requirements and consumption. Quantities and losses over ten stages are calculated and compared in terms of dry mass, wet mass, protein and energy. The comparison reveals significant differences between these measurements, and the potential for wet mass figures used in previous studies to be misleading. The results suggest that due to cumulative losses, the proportion of global agricultural dry biomass consumed as food is just 6% (9.0% for energy and 7.6% for protein), and 24.8% of harvest biomass (31.9% for energy and 27.8% for protein). The highest rates of loss are associated with livestock production, although the largest absolute losses of biomass occur prior to harvest. Losses of harvested crops were also found to be substantial, with 44.0% of crop dry matter (36.9% of energy and 50.1% of protein) lost prior to human consumption. If human over-consumption, defined as food consumption in excess of nutritional requirements, is included as an additional inefficiency, 48.4% of harvested crops were found to be lost (53.2% of energy and 42.3% of protein). Over-eating was found to be at least as large a contributor to food system losses as consumer food waste. The findings suggest that influencing consumer behaviour, e.g. to eat less animal products, or to reduce per capita consumption closer to nutrient requirements, offer substantial potential to improve food security for the rising global population in a sustainable manner.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Losses, inefficiencies and waste in the global food system

Alexander

Brown

Arneth

et al. 2017

Agricultural Systems

390

208

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The most critical point in calculating eFCR is the determination of the edible fractions of the different feedstuffs. This problem has been reported several times in combination with the food versus feed competition issue (Flachowsky, 2002;Wilkinson, 2011;Le Cotty and Dorin, 2012). Determination of the human edible fraction of feedstuffs is an approximate estimation, because no scientific concept has been developed yet and it strongly depends on the individual circumstances.…”

Section: Nutrient Balances Efficiency Of Milk Production and Feed Vmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feeding of by-products completely replaced cereals and pulses in dairy cows and enhanced edible feed conversion ratio

Ertl

Zebeli

Zollitsch

et al. 2015

Journal of Dairy Science

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When fed human-edible feeds, such as grains and pulses, dairy cows are very inefficient in transforming them into animal products. Therefore, strategies to reduce human-edible inputs in dairy cow feeding are needed to improve food efficiency. The aim of this feeding trial was to analyze the effect of the full substitution of a common concentrate mixture with a by-product concentrate mixture on milk production, feed intake, blood values, and the edible feed conversion ratio (eFCR), defined as human-edible output per human edible input. The experiment was conducted as a change-over design, with each experimental period lasting for 7wk. Thirteen multiparous and 5 primiparous Holstein cows were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 treatments. Treatments consisted of a grass silage-based forage diet supplemented with either conventional ingredients or solely by-products from the food processing industry (BP). The BP mixture had higher contents of fiber and ether extract, whereas starch content was reduced compared with the conventional mixture. Milk yield and milk solids were not affected by treatment. The eFCR in the BP group were about 4 and 2.7 times higher for energy and protein, respectively. Blood values did not indicate negative effects on cows' metabolic health status. Results of this feeding trial suggest that by-products could replace common concentrate supplements in dairy cow feeding, resulting in an increased eFCR for energy and protein which emphasizes the unique role of dairy cows as net food producers.

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“…Changes in production practices and animal genetics that increase efficiencies may help to offset some of the potential land use and associated environmental impacts (Havlík et al, 2014;Le Cotty and Dorin, 2012). Nevertheless, demand-side measures to reduce animal product consumption may be necessary to meet climate change targets (UNFCC, 2015), while helping to achieve food security (Bajželj et al, 2014;Lamb et al, 2016;Meadu et al, 2015;Smil, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Could consumption of insects, cultured meat or imitation meat reduce global agricultural land use?

Alexander

Brown

Arneth

et al. 2017

Global Food Security

267

124

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A B S T R A C TAnimal products, i.e. meat, milk and eggs, provide an important component in global diets, but livestock dominate agricultural land use by area and are a major source of greenhouse gases. Cultural and personal associations with animal product consumption create barriers to moderating consumption, and hence reduced environmental impacts. Here we review alternatives to conventional animal products, including cultured meat, imitation meat and insects (i.e. entomophagy), and explore the potential change in global agricultural land requirements associated with each alternative. Stylised transformative consumption scenarios where half of current conventional animal products are substituted to provide at least equal protein and calories are considered. The analysis also considers and compares the agricultural land area given shifts between conventional animal product consumption. The results suggest that imitation meat and insects have the highest land use efficiency, but the land use requirements are only slightly greater for eggs and poultry meat. The efficiency of insects and their ability to convert agricultural by-products and food waste into food, suggests further research into insect production is warranted. Cultured meat does not appear to offer substantial benefits over poultry meat or eggs, with similar conversion efficiency, but higher direct energy requirements. Comparison with the land use savings from reduced consumer waste, including over-consumption, suggests greater benefits could be achieved from alternative dietary transformations considered. We conclude that although a diet with lower rates of animal product consumption is likely to create the greatest reduction in agricultural land, a mix of smaller changes in consumer behaviour, such as replacing beef with chicken, reducing food waste and potentially introducing insects more commonly into diets, would also achieve land savings and a more sustainable food system.

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A global foresight on food crop needs for livestock

Cited by 18 publications

References 7 publications

Losses, inefficiencies and waste in the global food system

Losses, inefficiencies and waste in the global food system

Feeding of by-products completely replaced cereals and pulses in dairy cows and enhanced edible feed conversion ratio

Could consumption of insects, cultured meat or imitation meat reduce global agricultural land use?

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