Circularity in Europe strengthens the sustainability of the global food system

Zanten, H.H.E. van; Simon, Wolfram J.; Selm, Benjamin van; Wacker, J.; Maindl, Thomas I.; Frehner, Anita; Hijbeek, Renske; Ittersum, M.K. van; Herrero, Mario

doi:10.1038/s43016-023-00734-9

Cited by 34 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Organic waste is avoided whenever possible, and if it occurs, it is efficiently reused as feed or fertilizer. Our findings support recent studies showing that agricultural land can largely be spared when feeding farmed animals primarily with low-cost biomass such as by-products, food waste and crop residues 22 . This spared land could be used for other purposes, such as sequestering carbon through reforestation, which could also increase biodiversity 28 .…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

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Circular food system approaches can support current European protein intake levels while reducing land use and greenhouse gas emissions

Simon,

Hijbeek,

Frehner

et al. 2024

Nat Food

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Protein transition and circular food system transition are two proposed strategies for supporting food system sustainability. Here we model animal-sourced protein to plant-sourced protein ratios within a European circular food system, finding that maintaining the current animal–plant protein share while redesigning the system with circular principles resulted in the largest relative reduction of 44% in land use and 70% in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared with the current food system. Shifting from a 60:40 to a 40:60 ratio of animal-sourced proteins to plant-sourced proteins yielded a 60% reduction in land use and an 81% GHG emission reduction, while supporting nutritionally adequate diets. Differences between current and recommended total protein intake did not substantially impact minimal land use and GHG emissions. Micronutrient inadequacies occurred with less than 18 g animal protein per capita per day. Redesigning the food system varied depending on whether land use or GHG emissions were reduced—highlighting the need for a food system approach when designing policies to enhance human and planetary health.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…In this context, circularity refers to a system primarily focusing on producing human food and providing healthy diets. Organic waste is avoided whenever possible, and if it occurs, it is reused in the most efficient way possible as feed or as fertilizer 22 , 23 .…”

Section: Mainmentioning

confidence: 99%

Circular food system approaches can support current European protein intake levels while reducing land use and greenhouse gas emissions

Simon,

Hijbeek,

Frehner

et al. 2024

Nat Food

Self Cite

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“…The proposed model for processing wheat (Figure 3) and peas (Figure 4) is based on three principles, namely, integration, recycling, and upcycling to implement circularity within the grain industry, with a potential for zero waste (e.g., <5% loss) through the efficient use of resources. In Europe, when the food system has been transformed toward circularity, it leads to sequential changes among its components, along with a great potential to preserve human and planetary health [54]. The European circular system is able to achieve a potential reduction of 71% in agricultural land use and 29% per capita in GHG emissions while still producing sufficient healthy foods.…”

Section: Sustainable Grain Processing Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insights into Grain Milling and Fractionation Practices for Improved Food Sustainability with Emphasis on Wheat and Peas

Abdel-Aal

2024

Foods

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Cereal grains and pulses are staple foods worldwide, being the primary supply of energy, protein, and fiber in human diets. The current practice of milling and fractionation yields large quantities of byproducts and waste, which are largely downgraded and end up as animal feeds or fertilizers. This adversely affects food security and the environment, and definitely implies an urgent need for a sustainable grain processing system to rectify the current issues, particularly the management of waste and excessive use of water and energy. The current review intends to discuss the limitations and flaws of the existing practice of grain milling and fractionation, along with potential solutions to make it more sustainable, with an emphasis on wheat and peas as common fractionation crops. This review discusses a proposed sustainable grain processing system for the fractionation of wheat or peas into flour, protein, starch, and value-added components. The proposed system is a hybrid model that combines dry and wet fractionation processes in conjunction with the implementation of three principles, namely, integration, recycling, and upcycling, to improve component separation efficiency and value addition and minimize grain milling waste. The three principles are critical in making grain processing more efficient in terms of the management of waste and resources. Overall, this review provides potential solutions for how to make the grain processing system more sustainable.

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“…Livestock production contributes substantially to global environmental changes, particularly in areas with high livestock population densities [ 1 , 2 ]. This is attributed to associated greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution, acidification, and primary energy consumption, which can have serious impacts on the environment [ 3 , 4 ]. Feed production, direct energy use, and emissions from housing and manure management systems during pig farming are the major contributors to environmental pollution [ 5 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Establishment of porcine fecal-derived <i>ex vivo</i> microbial communities to evaluate the impact of livestock feed on gut microbiome

TSUJIKAWA,

NISHIYAMA,

NAMAI

et al. 2024

Bioscience of Microbiota, Food and Health

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Sustainable livestock production requires reducing competition for food and feed resources and increasing the utilization of food by-products in livestock feed. This study describes the establishment of an anaerobic batch culture model to simulate pig microbiota and evaluate the effects of a food by-product, wakame seaweed stalks, on ex vivo microbial communities. We selected one of the nine media to support the growth of a bacterial community most similar in composition and diversity to that observed in pig donor feces. Supplementation with wakame altered the microbial profile and short-chain fatty acid composition in the ex vivo model, and a similar trajectory was observed in the in vivo pig experimental validation. Notably, the presence of wakame increased the abundance of Lactobacillus species, which may have been due to cross-feeding with Bacteroides . These results suggest the potential of wakame as a livestock feed capable of modulating the pig microbiome. Collectively, this study highlights the ability to estimate the microbiome changes that occur when pigs are fed a specific feed using an ex vivo culture model.

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Circularity in Europe strengthens the sustainability of the global food system

Cited by 34 publications

References 52 publications

Circular food system approaches can support current European protein intake levels while reducing land use and greenhouse gas emissions

Circular food system approaches can support current European protein intake levels while reducing land use and greenhouse gas emissions

Insights into Grain Milling and Fractionation Practices for Improved Food Sustainability with Emphasis on Wheat and Peas

Establishment of porcine fecal-derived <i>ex vivo</i> microbial communities to evaluate the impact of livestock feed on gut microbiome

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