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A new publication from Evonik and KPMG examines the impacts of poultry and swine production and outlines the potential societal benefits of using feed additives which reduce protein intake.
Current livestock farming practices contribute to serious global challenges, including climate change, land degradation, and pollution. Therefore, more sustainable methods are urgently required to meet the increasing demand for meat, fish, milk and eggs.
To build the case for using innovative animal feed practices on a large scale, Evonik partnered with finance and sustainability professionals at KPMG member firms to measure and evaluate the impacts of livestock production.
The analysis, using the KPMG True Value methodology, compared the societal impacts of using innovative animal feed versus conventional feed. It covered the economic, environmental and social impacts of meat production across the value chain, from the cultivation of crops for animal feed through to animal husbandry.
The analysis was based on 2018 market shares of innovative feed in pork production in China, and on the most advanced innovative feed composition available at the time. The team quantified the impacts in financial terms using valuation data selected from a wide variety of sources.1
The Evonik/KPMG True Value approach assigns a financial value for each impact. Once this was established for each impact, the total value of impacts2 could be calculated for production using innovative animal feed and conventional feed. The two calculations revealed significant differences between the two types of feed in terms of their social and environmental impacts.
The KPMG True Value analysis of pig farming in China showed using innovative feed for pigs could have significant effects on the industry’s social and environmental impacts, potentially reducing the ‘true’ price of pork by almost 12%.
The analysis estimated the potential to protect societal value of 12.3 bn. Euro in the pig market in North Asia annually if conventional feed is replaced by innovative animal feed.
“Our goal is to generate engagement and debate around how the livestock industry can work together to address its social and environmental challenges,” said Dr. Emmanuel Auer, Head of Animal Nutrition, Evonik.
Conventional animal feed is high in protein, which leads to high levels of nitrogen in animal waste. Evonik has developed amino acids for animal feed that help to reduce animals’ protein intake. This, in turn, decreases the level of nitrogen excreted. The innovative animal feed also improves the efficiency of the animals’ digestion, reducing the amount of food and water consumed and the amount of waste produced.
Evonik plans to expand the scope of its research to measure the impacts of its feed in other major poultry and swine producing regions, as well as in the dairy and aquaculture sectors.
1Sources included the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB)
2Referred to in the analysis as ‘societal value’
January 24, 2020 - Evonik
