About a Circular food production


Circular food production is considered the way forward, livestock farming has a key role to play in this.

 

Academia and governments consider circular agriculture as an inevitable and conclusive solution to environmental and social issues and therefore have it increasingly addressed in their policies.

On 27 May 2020, the European Commission published the Farm to Fork Strategy. The European feed industry plays a key role in achieving the ambitions of more sustainable food systems (source: FEFAC).

No food system can be sustainable without the production of farm animals, due to their essential role in transforming low value human inedible feed materials into high value nutritious food via milk, meat and eggs to consumers. At the same time farm animals provide highly valued organic fertilisers to arable crops, making them a key component of sustainable food systems. This is based on the Circular Economy principles: creating a circular agriculture system. 

Visions on a circular food production

Various academics published studies about circularity in agriculture, where animals play a vital role in the cycle. See below an impression based on the study of Van Zanten et al., 2019. One of their conclusions is that for optimal utilisation of land for food production, one third of the daily protein consumption should come from animal protein. 

Afbeelding: Circular food production model
Source visual: Van Zanten et al., 2019

Wageningen University & research (WUR) stresses that circular agriculture is the way forward, enabling us to produce enough food for everyone within the boundaries set by our planet.  That is why circularity does not mean local.  The boundaries can be set on a global basis.

Also, the Dutch Minister Schouten of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality opts for a switch to circular agriculture. Likewise, The Dutch Feed Industry Association Nevedi has the ambition to have a significant impact on creating a more circular agriculture food system. Also the European Feed Industry Association FEFAC has set out its vision on circular economy. Also in the United Kingdom, circular agriculture is a fundamental part of the roadmap for a sustainable food chain (source: Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC)).

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Going Circular, For the Future of Farming

To us circular food production is transforming low value materials into high quality food, no waste of resources and zero pollution. We strengthen this circular food production system by aiming at closing loops in Feed resources, Feed production and Feed solutions.

Read more about Going Circular and the three themes Feed resources, Feed production and Feed solutions.