The possibilities of alternative protein use in animal nutrition

Abstract

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) predicts there will not be enough food for human and animal nutrition until 2050. Global demand for animal protein for human consumption is increasing, and this consequently increases the price of these ingredients. This will open several challenges to provide enough animal feed. In the European Union, the use of processed animal proteins in pig and poultry diets is prohibited due to the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) legislation, while globally, the land availability for soy cultivation is limited. The European food market is dependent on huge import of soybean, which is the main source of valuable proteins and one of the main ingredients in feeds. Feed ingredients must not contain antinutritive factors that would adversely affect animal production and must have an acceptable price. Some of the alternative plant sources of protein are fava beans, peas, lentils, hemp, different grain seeds, etc. To find alternative sources of protein of animal origin scientists are increasingly investigating the use of worm, snail or grasshopper meals and also marine organisms, usually algae, shells or starfish. Single cell proteins are a specific kind of protein from different microbial sources, including microalgae, yeast, fungi, and bacteria.