FEFAC presents report on industrially manufactured compound feeds

European feed federation FEFAC has presented its first environment report on industrially manufactured compound feeds in the context of the sustainability of livestock production in the EU. The 28-page document investigates the environmental impact of feed production and feed use in three main areas. The first covers raw material resources, such as the impact of soybean and fishmeal production as well as the use of byproducts from food and biofuel producers. The second refers to climate change and energy use, while the third reports on feed safety.

"This environment report is our first contribution to the upcoming EU and international debate and the work of the EU Food Chain Round Table on Sustainable Consumption and Production of which FEFAC is a founding member," said FEFAC President Pedro Corrêa de Barros. "The challenge, as highlighted by the Food and Agriculture Organization, is to double the supply of animal products at global level within the next 40 years, while minimizing impacts on the environment per unit of animal product. I believe that this may be achieved only through ecologically intensive livestock production systems based on efficient compound feed supply."
 
Ad Hectors, member of the FEFAC praesidium in charge of sustainability, stressed that "EU feed manufacturers are fully aware of the impact of EU livestock production on the environment and the contribution of feed consumption to that impact. A number of initiatives have been taken by feed manufacturers, either individually or collectively, at national or European level, to improve the environmental performance of their feed. The FEFAC Environment Report provides an overview of the different angles under which the environmental sustainability of industrial compound feed should be considered, which will be useful not only for European feed manufacturers, but also to anyone interested in knowing more about the sustainability of EU feeding systems, including our livestock chain partners, environment organizations and policy makers."