Turning wasted food into animal feed

It slowly piles up all along the food production system. Fruit damaged during harvesting, lettuce wilting and spoiling in warehouses, yogurt expiring on the shelves of grocery stores. It’s referred to as food loss and food waste. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, nearly one third of all the food grown, produced, processed, transported, and intended for human consumption ends up discarded. Despite tremendous efforts, global food waste and loss remains a significant challenge. 

But what if that wasted food could be redirected and help make our food systems more sustainable? Professor Jerry Shurson, a swine nutrition and feed specialist in the Department of Animal Science at the University of Minnesota sees turning food waste into animal feed as an essential part of a more sustainable future. 

The potential environmental benefits of reducing food loss and waste are huge. In a 2023 paper published in the journal Nature Food, authors found about half of the total greenhouse gas emissions from the global agri-food system can be attributed to just food loss and waste. With demand for animal based protein remaining high, so does the need to increase the sustainability of raising livestock. 

“There are so many benefits to recapturing these nutrients - it’s an economic advantage to the animal producers, reducing their feed costs. It helps make the animal protein more sustainable, reducing the carbon footprint. Companies can avoid landfills and the associated fees, and it creates opportunities for new entrepreneurs to start sustainable, local business,” Shurson explained. 

The biggest hurdles preventing food loss and waste being turned into animal feed? Lack of consistent policies, outdated regulatory barriers, and a coordinated infrastructure. But these barriers can be overcome. Shurson points to Japan as an example, where government policies and incentives push to have zero organic waste at landfills and an “Eco-feed” program reducing the country's reliance on imported feed ingredients by collecting and processing locally-produced food waste. 

“A lot of our policies are based on outdated concerns about food safety and food borne illnesses. Properly treated food waste is a safe and nutritious way to support animal production,” Shurson said. 

He and his colleagues hope to continue to educate policymakers and fill knowledge gaps, promoting a circular agri-food system and making the most out of our resources, both to fight global hunger and create a more sustainable future. 

Learn more about circular agri-food systems and up-cycling food waste and loss

• “Upcycling food loss and waste to animal feed is essential for a circular and sustainable food system,” written by Dr. Gerald Shurson in the book Intensive Livestock Production in Transition. 
• “A critical analysis of challenges and opportunities for upcycling food waste to animal feed to reduce climate and resource burdens,” in the journal Resources, Conservation and Recycling. 
• “Integrating sustainability, circularity, and One Health in pork production systems” with Gerald Shurson on Feedstuffs.