Use of an Ethanol Bio-Refinery Product as a Soy Bean Alternative in Diets for Fast-Growing Meat Production Species: A Circular Economy Approach

Abstract

The recent conceptual pivot from bioethanol production to ethanol biorefining has led to development of protein derived by fractionating the non-ethanol streams post fermentation within the plant. The aim of this study was to identify the effect of replacing dietary soy with corn-fermented protein (CFP) on performance of fast-growing meat species and the impact on the carbon footprint associated with the feed for each species. The study contains trials on 3 species, broiler, turkey and salmon. In trial one, 324 broiler chicks were allocated randomly to 36 pens distributed into 3 dietary treatments; control (0% CFP), 5% CFP and 10% CFP; for 35 days. In trial 2, 150 turkey poults were allocated to 3 treatments: control (0 CFP), 4% CFP and 8% CFP for 35 days. In trial 3, 525 Atlantic Salmon (starting weight 304 g ± 10.7 g) were raised in 15 saltwater tanks for 84 days with 5 treatments, control (0% CFP), 5% CFP, 10% CFP, 15% CFP and 20% CFP. Growth response, nutrient utilisation and carbon footprint were assessed in each trial. Replacement of soy with CFP showed limited differences in growth response and nutrient utilization but replacing soy bean meal with CFP at rate of 5%, 8% and 10% in broiler, turkey and salmon diets, respectively resulted in a 14% decrease in carbon footprint of diet manufacturing. This investigation shows coupling bioethanol production with poultry and salmon production represents a highly effective circular economy contributing to multiple UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Assessment of the inclusion of a feed additive of sodium humate derived from freshwater sapropel in diets for broiler chickens

“…It is forecasted that global food production needs to increase by at least 70% by 2050 to feed the growing global population; therefore, Available at www.veterinaryworld.org/Vol.16/October-2023/3.pdf industrial-scale agricultural activities such as poultry production could be a potential priority [5]. The rapid growth and efficient absorption of feed by poultry ensures the production of poultry meat with a relatively low carbon footprint [6][7][8]. A significant decrease in the demand for rice, an increasing share of palm oil in the global fat and oil markets, and a continued shift to poultry as the dominant form of meat consumption are predicted by 2050 [9].…”

“…Since 2000, there has been a growing interest in the use of humus and its biologically active principles in livestock farming. Several scientific studies on feed absorption efficiency in poultry farming [2,6,8,10,[17][18][19][20][21][22] have shown a positive effect on the quality of meat and eggs and livestock health. Some research studies have found that various feed additives and biologically active principles included in the poultry diet increased the productivity of poultry, increased feed absorption efficiency, and consequently reduced production cost per kilogram of meat produced [10,23].…”