Circularity in animal production requires a change in the EAT-Lancet diet in Europe

Abstract

It is not known whether dietary guidelines proposing a limited intake of animal protein are compatible with the adoption of circular food systems. Using a resource-allocation model, we compared the effects of circularity on the supply of animal-source nutrients in Europe with the nutritional requirements of the EAT-Lancet reference diet. We found the two to be compatible in terms of total animal-source proteins but not specific animal-source foods; in particular, the EAT-Lancet guidelines recommend larger quantities of poultry meat over beef and pork, while a circular food system produces mainly milk, dairy-beef and pork. Compared with the EAT-Lancet reference diet, greenhouse gas emissions were reduced by up to 31% and arable land use reduced by up to 42%. Careful consideration of the feasible substitutability between animal-source foods is needed to define potential roles of animal products in circular human diets.

The compatibility of circularity and national dietary recommendations for animal products in five European countries: a modelling analysis on nutritional feasibility, climate impact, and land use

“…We used a resource allocation model, for which details have been published elsewhere, 19,20 to estimate potential animal products on the basis of calculated LOCB. The model contains a detailed representation of seven animal production systems (dairy cattle, beef cattle, laying hens, broiler chickens, pigs, Atlantic salmon, and Nile tilapia), and allocates feed resources to the different animal production systems while maximising different nutritional contributions (appendix p 5).…”

“…The LOCB available for production of animal products would then be derived from these plant-based commodity quantities, their processing and waste fractions, and the domestically available grassland production. By use of a resource allocation model, which was originally developed by van Hal and colleagues 19 and adapted by van Selm and colleagues, 20 we assessed different scenarios for five European countries-namely, Bulgaria, Malta, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland. Finally, we assessed the climate impact and land use of these alternative scenarios.…”

Recycling nutrients in the beef supply chain through circular manuresheds: Data to assess tradeoffs

“…However, naming such barriers now can help foster new realities for the future (Basso et al, 2021). Empirical datasets such as those described here, which reliably connect patterns and processes of biophysical and socioeconomic systems in a spatially explicit manner, are essential for advancing circularity in animal industries of modern agriculture-an imperative that is called for more and more frequently in recent years in high-profile sustainability research (e.g., Liu, 2017;Van Selm et al, 2022). Despite their importance, datasets like these are rare.…”

“…Nutrient circularity—recovering nutrients from manures and post‐harvest byproducts and reusing them for further agricultural production (Harder et al., 2021)—is a promising yet complex strategy for achieving such intertwined sustainability goals. Approaches to nutrient circularity include substituting food co‐products and wastes for conventional animal feeds (e.g., Green‐Miller et al., 2021; van Hal et al., 2019; van Selm et al., 2022), substituting manures or biosolids for commercial fertilizers (e.g., Akram et al., 2019; Metson et al., 2016), or both (e.g., Koppelmäki et al., 2021). Finding viable ways to achieve nutrient circularity is especially important in light of projected global scarcity of fertilizer N and P (Fixen & Johnston, 2012; MacDonald et al., 2012) and fertilizer price surges (Huffstutter et al., 2022; Myers & Nigh, 2021).…”

How will Sweden’s ambitious climate targets change how we eat and get around?

“…The mix of proteins sources recommended for a climate optimal diet is however under debate. A recent study by van Selm et al (2022) indicates that the recommended mix of proteins depend on assumptions about the way meat is produced. There is however a consensus on a need for large reductions in animal protein intake in dietary guidelines.…”