„Protein of Animal Origin: Are there Alternatives for Human Nutrition?“
Considering limited natutal resources, such as land, water, fuel, some minerals and increased emissions as well as rapid population growth, food security is one of the largest challenges of the current century. Apart from sufficient food, the supply with essential nutrients, such as amino acids, minerals and vitamins have top priority in human nutrition. In consequence of the high need of limited resources and some emissions ( e.g. methane, laughing gas) farm animal husbandry is questionable from various views and many people – mainly from the cities in high developed contries – ask for alternatives.
In our study, we analysed potentials for improvement of traditional ways of plant and animal production as well as new possibilities of protein manufacturing. Such alternatives are:
- Avoid food competition between human and animals
- Reduction of land, feed and food losses along the whole food chain
- Changes in the consumption behaviour of men
- Avoidance of overconsumption and overweight of people
- Dogs, cats and other meat consumer can be considered as food competitor
- Improvement of aquaculture
- Imitated food based on plant products (mainly legumes)
- Using of single cell protein and algea in human nutrition
- Insects as feed and food
- So-called „Lab grown (in vitro, cultured or artificially) meat“.
More food for more people with lower resources need and less emissions can be considered as one of the largest challenge for all those, working along the food chain.
(More details can be found in a paper by Flachowsky et al. (2019) in the journal „Zuechtungskunde“ 91, (3); 178-213; 2019; unfortunately in German)
Best regards
Gerhard Flachowsky
Institute of Animal Nutrition
Federal Research Institute of Animal Health
Bundesallee 37
38116 Braunschweig
Germany
Dr. Gerhard Flachowsky