Abstract
Substitution of food out of alternative biomass sources is aimed to supply consumers with food products similar in nutrition and with lower environmental impact compared to conventional products. At current state of development, meat substitutes are not competitive with chicken meat, except for plant based meat analogs (although they have weaker nutritional profile). Upscaling, further technological development and use of agri-food waste as main source substrate can assure the environmental benefits of insects (2 kW h of energy, 1 kg CO2 eq., 1.5 m2 of land and 0.1 m3 of water) and single cell products (10 kW h, 2–4 kg CO2 eq., 0.5 m2 of land and 0.25 m3 of water), making them more competitive compared to industrial chicken production. The results of the current research are preliminary and further studies are required to assure the industrial applicability of agri-food wastes use for food production.
Highlights
Food production is one of the most important human industries, which can be responsible for a majority of environmental impacts in developed countries [1]
The current analysis, which included comparison of alternative protein sources according to the technology readiness level, nutritional profile and environmental impact, indicated the potential for the substitution of traditional food
Alternative sources of biomass can be used as food substitutes if their environmental and economic benefits are assured
Summary
Food production is one of the most important human industries, which can be responsible for a majority of environmental impacts in developed countries [1]. The main causes for such impacts relate to overpopulation, growing demand for consumption of animal derived products and high rates of food waste. While some research targets development of solutions for separate issues, more recent sources indicate the need for a more holistic and systematic change of the complete food production chain [2, 3]. The substitution of traditional foods with alternative analogs produced by non-traditional methods is foreseen as one example of sustainable transitions [4]. Considering a complete life cycle of food substitutes, their performance is not always cost efficient and environmentally beneficial [5–7]. A more sustainable status of food transitions should be confirmed with extensive research of economic efficiency, environmental advances and social acceptability
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