Food vs. feed

Competition for resources between growing crops for human consumption and for animal feed

Livestock feeding on land in the United Kingdom

Food vs. feed is a competition for resources between growing crops for human consumption and growing crops for animal feed.[1][2] Competing resources includes: land, water sources, fertilizers, labor, and finances[3]

Part of the competition is the division of land. In many countries, livestock graze on land that is typically unsuitable for crops grown for human consumption or food crops. There is three times as much agricultural land[4] as arable land.[5]

The Food and Agriculture Organization utilizes the term food vs. feed in the livestock industry to compare crop inputs vs. protein outputs. For example, crops for people to eat require less land and other resources than crops for animals to eat so people can eat them.[5][6][7]

## Global Impacts

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### Global Greenhouse Gas Emission and Trade

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According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, global emissions from agriculture are outputting an estimate of 5.4 billion tons of greenhouse gases. [8]Since the 1960s, international trade in feed and animal products has increased tenfold, driven by the growing global demand for meat and dairy products, fueled by population growth and the increasing popularity of animal-based protein diets. This trend has intensified the need to allocate more land exclusively for feed production. Additionally, the demand for crops intended for human consumption has risen due to population growth. Global trade in vegetables has surged 7.5 times since the 1960s.[9]Beside the trade of crops, feeds, and animal products; the transportation of resources involved for the crop cultivation also contributes the emission of CO2. Transport of resources such as crop seeds, processed feed, fertilizers, pesticide, and other resources involved in the farming operations. [3][10]

## Circular Agriculture

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Pig Food - A women's voluntary service collecting kitchen waste to feed pigs, East Barnet, Hertfordshire, England 1943

Circular agriculture is defined as a sustainable farming system that promotes waste cycling and resource preservation.[10] Farms that exclusively produce food crops or exclusively produce feed generates excess waste that contributes to environmental pollution[8] In a circular agriculture system, wasted food (no longer edible by humans) can be provided to livestock, which in turn feed humans.[11][12] Not only can the food waste be redirected as feed, it can be composted into fertilizers to enrich the soil. Food waste utilized as feed causes a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions as the process decreases waste disposal process and excessive feed production. The waste not only accumulates from rotten, unharvested, and expired crops, but remnants from the harvest such as stems, stalks, and other unconsumed parts of the crops. Resources for cultivating the crop such as manure, plant-based materials, and other biodegradable items will contribute to the landfill.

Farm waste in landfills without oxygen would produce methane (CH4), a greenhouse gas that traps more heat than carbon dioxide(CO2). According to the MIT Climate Portal, methane captures 120 the amount of heat that carbon dioxide does in a given moment.[13] Beside anaerobic composition of farm waste in landfills, methane is also produce from enteric fermentation and manure management. [8]

### China and Beiqiu Farm

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China alone produces 708 millions tons placing the country first in agriculture emission with a 13.5 percent share of global contribution. As a separate measurement, livestock emission produces 150 millions tons. Due to high demand of both crops and livestock, farms in the country has adopted more circular agriculture practices to prioritize meeting the demands. Practices such as having on site processing facilities that turns farm waste into both feed and fertilizer.[8] Beiqiu farm located in Dezhou City in the Shandong Province of China utilizes a circular agricultural system where it prioritizes both food crops and feed crops for farm's livestock. Beiqiu farm produces wheat and corn for both food production and livestock feed. Crops that the farm cannot be sold are repurposed as feed, and a portion of the harvest is allocated from sales to ensure there is sufficient feed for the livestock. Livestock manure and crop byproducts are repurposed as organic fertilizers through Beiqiu's on-site processing facility, ensuring that no waste is sent to landfills. This process lowers the farm's costs while also reducing excess greenhouse gas emissions produced on the farm. [8]Feeding livestock with onsite crops reduces emission through eliminating the need to transport off-farm sources of feed. [10]

## See also

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* Environmental impact of meat production – Impact of farming animals on the environmentPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
* Agricultural productivity – Quotient between production and productive factors
* Environmental vegetarianism – Type of practice of vegetarianism
* Precision fermentation – Biochemical process applied in industrial productionPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
* Economics of veganism – Practice of abstaining from exploitation of animals and the use of animal products
* Feed conversion ratio – Ratio of animal feed to desired product
* Fish meal – Commercial product made from fish to feed farm animals
* Food security – Measure of the availability and accessibility of food
* Food race – American author (1935–2018)Pages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
* Food vs. fuel – Debate concerning diversion of food supply for biofuels production
* Meat alternative – Plant-based food made to resemble meat

## References

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1. ^ Manceron, Stéphane; Ben-Ari, Tamara; Dumas, Patrice (July 2014). "Feeding proteins to livestock: Global land use and food vs. feed competition". OCL. 21 (4): D408. doi:10.1051/ocl/2014020. ISSN 2272-6977.
2. ^ Steinfeld, H.; Opio, C. (2010). "The availability of feeds for livestock: Competition with human consumption in present world" (PDF). Advances in Animal Biosciences. 1 (2): 421. doi:10.1017/S2040470010000488.
3. ^ a b Muscat, A.; de Olde, E. M.; de Boer, I. J. M.; Ripoll-Bosch, R. (2020-06-01). "The battle for biomass: A systematic review of food-feed-fuel competition". Global Food Security. 25 100330\. Bibcode:2020GlFS...2500330M. doi:10.1016/j.gfs.2019.100330. ISSN 2211-9124.
4. ^ "Agricultural land (% of land area) | Data". data.worldbank.org. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
5. ^ a b "More Fuel for the Food/Feed Debate". UN FAO. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
6. ^ "Agriculture: Food vs. Feed". Science On a Sphere. 2012-05-01. Retrieved 2025-03-06.
7. ^ "Animal Production and Health Division (NSA)". www.fao.org. Retrieved 2025-03-06.
8. ^ a b c d e Hang, Sheng; Li, Jing; Xu, Xiangbo; Lyu, Yun; Li, Yang; Gong, Huarui; Xu, Yan; Ouyang, Zhu (2021-06-25). "An Optimization Scheme of Balancing GHG Emission and Income in Circular Agriculture System". Sustainability. 13 (13): 7154. Bibcode:2021Sust...13.7154H. doi:10.3390/su13137154. ISSN 2071-1050.
9. ^ Lassaletta, Luis; Billen, Gilles; Garnier, Josette; Bouwman, Lex; Velazquez, Eduardo; Mueller, Nathaniel D; Gerber, James S (2016-09-01). (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/110.0.0.0 Safari/537.36 Citoid/WMF (mailto:noc@wikimedia.org)&ssu=&ssv=&ssw=&ssx=eyJ1em14IjoiN2Y5MDAwMzdhODM3ZDktZDhjYS00ZGI4LWIwNDItYWQ5NzNjYWZmZDEyMS0xNzQxMjIxNDA1NTM2MC0xYjZhMjk2ZDU2MmQ5NjhhMTAiLCJfX3V6bWYiOiI3ZjYwMDA5M2NiZjYyMC1iYjE3LTQ3ZDAtODk3ZC03ZDJkNmQzMThiMDUxNzQxMjIxNDA1NTM2MC04ZDA5NDRhNDY4MGUxNmU2MTAiLCJyZCI6ImlvcC5vcmcifQ== "Nitrogen use in the global food system: past trends and future trajectories of agronomic performance, pollution, trade, and dietary demand". Environmental Research Letters. 11 (9): 095007. Bibcode:2016ERL....11i5007L. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/11/9/095007. ISSN 1748-9326. `{{cite journal}}`: Check `|url=` value (help)
10. ^ a b c Rodino, Steliana; Pop, Ruxandra; Sterie, Cristina; Giuca, Andreea; Dumitru, Eduard (2023-10-25). "Developing an Evaluation Framework for Circular Agriculture: A Pathway to Sustainable Farming". Agriculture. 13 (11): 2047. Bibcode:2023Agric..13.2047R. doi:10.3390/agriculture13112047. ISSN 2077-0472.
11. ^ Van Zanten, Hannah H. E.; Van Ittersum, Martin K.; De Boer, Imke J. M. (2019-06-01). "The role of farm animals in a circular food system". Global Food Security. 21: 18–22\. Bibcode:2019GlFS...21...18V. doi:10.1016/j.gfs.2019.06.003. ISSN 2211-9124.
12. ^ El Janati, Mustapha; Akkal-Corfini, Nouraya; Bouaziz, Ahmed; Oukarroum, Abdallah; Robin, Paul; Sabri, Ahmed; Chikhaoui, Mohamed; Thomas, Zahra (2021-04-23). "Benefits of Circular Agriculture for Cropping Systems and Soil Fertility in Oases". Sustainability. 13 (9): 4713. Bibcode:2021Sust...13.4713E. doi:10.3390/su13094713. ISSN 2071-1050.
13. ^ "What makes methane a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide? | MIT Climate Portal". climate.mit.edu. Retrieved 2025-03-21.

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