As consumer attitudes change with more information in the public domain regarding food production, often driven to the point of overload from social media, the poultry industry has had to adapt. It is now at the start of a period of change and opportunity to meet the demands of feeding a growing global population in the new era of low-carbon food production.
With the UK population estimated to reach 77 million by 2050, it is projected that chicken production will need to expand, to meet the increased demand for protein products. Alongside this growing demand, consumers are also putting increasing pressure on retailers in terms of what they see as the right welfare, and what they see as being the right focus in terms of long-term sustainability.
The need to produce a bird that fits consumers’ criteria is changing the industry. The level of information demanded by consumers on what they are eating is not going to reduce.
This reverberates throughout the whole supply chain, from processors, retailers and producers, but in particular to the animal feed manufacturers and nutritionists that are working to help producers meet processor, retailer and consumer demands.
Brian Kenyon, senior nutrition manager at ABN, explains the vital role ABN is playing in outlining a structured roadmap towards a profitable, sustainable and low-carbon poultry industry based around performance and animal welfare.
“The most important aspect to maintain a sustainable low carbon poultry industry is to balance the demands of animal welfare and environmental credibility, alongside the need to support a productive and profitable business operation. Most recently, the price challenges and availability of raw materials has taken centre stage, and in doing so has perhaps highlighted even more the need to consider alternative and sustainable feed sources. With today’s cost challenges, any additional feed costs further underline the importance of maximising feed efficiency and productivity, where a strong focus on cost efficiencies and balanced nutrition is vital. Adjusting poultry diets to meet sustainability requirements, and specifically reducing the reliance on soya, will bring significant challenges and will require realistic timeframes. Clarity is also needed from the industry as to what is meant by a soya-free diet. Are soya derivatives such as soya oil allowed, or will they need to be replaced as well? Soya meal itself can be replaced by a number of existing materials, such as beans and rapeseed, though time and effort will be needed to develop the supply chain and the right processing techniques needed to maximise their effectiveness. Soya oil alternatives are not as readily available, and we may have to revisit the use of tallows. The main reason soya oil, and indeed palm, is used in poultry diets is because we no longer use tallow. The major concern over the use of soya in diets is the role of soya production in deforestation.
As part of the AB Agri Group, AB Agri representatives have played an active role in developing the European Compound Feed Manufacturers Federation (FEFAC) benchmarking system which endorses and monitors sustainable production of soya. All the certification schemes that ABN use specify zero deforestation. This means the soya has not been grown in areas that have been converted from forest or other valuable native habitats since agreed cut off dates. As well as this commitment, very much aligned to the UN’s Sustainability Goals, ABN is undertaking significant research into potential alternative proteins, and the delivery of these alternatives as a viable commercial offering will require a structured and pragmatic roadmap across the entire supply chain.
One of the main challenges of a lower-carbon diet is that it would usually increase the costs of production, mainly through higher raw material costs. Alternative raw materials to include in the diets such as insect meal, single-celled organisms and co-products of the food and energy industry are either not widely available today or not ready for mass production. Co-products are interesting alternative raw materials, as they have low carbon values due to their status as by-products, though this could be offset by the need for additional processing requirements to get the by-product into a form that can be handled by the feed mill and readily incorporated into the feed.
We need a realistic transition plan, and must recognise that a move away from soya cannot happen overnight. A pragmatic approach would be to work towards a five-year roadmap to a low-soya diet to ensure availability of high-performing and sustainable alternatives. An industry-managed transition to reducing soya, with a realistic timeframe, would allow a secure supply chain to be set up, with the arable sector able to scale up the right crops, preventing demand from outstripping the UK’s cropping cycles and further exacerbating price rises.
In most cases we are not looking at new raw materials, we are talking about existing UK grown crops. But what we do need is a commitment across the supply chain, and the need to invest in the infrastructure to turn on the tap and to start to make the transition. Without this commitment we are creating too much uncertainty, and uncertainty inevitably brings costs. We really need to start the conversation and get the relevant people to the table to start this commitment. This means a joined-up approach involving all parts of the supply chain, from arable farmers to animal feed companies, pig and poultry processors, food service and retailers to help drive this transition. While it may be a difficult conversation to start now, with current feed price challenges and the fact these costs will add to food inflation for the end user, to not do so would be very short-sighted. We need to be looking three to five years down the line. Let’s remember, we are talking about one harvest a year, and if we want to get the arable farmer to produce the crop we want, we need to give them this commitment. We all need to share that commitment, and in the short-term, the cost too, including the end-user/consumer.
We are not specifically talking about detail at this stage, it is more top line to get the conversation started and to get the wheels in motion for that 5-year roadmap. We need to be sensible and work together more to achieve a real and positive response from the British agriculture and food industry to the availability and sustainability of a future low carbon poultry industry.”