September 22, 2009
Meat meal can reduce burden on environment
The burden global meat consumption puts on the environment can be reduced by reintroducing meat meal into animal feeds, according to Emiel Elferink from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.
Europe has banned meat and bone meal (MBM) from animal feed after BSE or mad cow disease hit the cattle industry and caused a few human deaths.
The blame was pinned on MBM as cattle received feed containing remains of ruminants.
After the ban on MBM, the protein source in feeds has been replaced by vegetable proteins such as soy, leading to a sharp increase in soy production.
Elferink said about 16 million tonnes of meat meal has been replaced by 23 million tonnes of soy. To replace slaughter offals, 10 percent of EU agricultural land would need to be cultivated, he added.