The potential to increase resilience by replacing feed imports with domestic food system by-products

Many of the key feedstuff, such as oilseed meals or fishmeal, used in livestock and aquaculture production are highly traded commodities in global agricultural markets. The dependence on these imported inputs creates vulnerabilities to the production countries when disturbances on global trade flows occur. Increasing the feed use of the available food system by-products offers a solution to decrease the dependency and increase food system circularity and resilience. In this global study we combine trade data from various sources of the material flows in feed trade and estimate for the first time the potential to replace the imported feeds with a more efficient use of food system by-products from domestic production. The results highlight the materials and areas with most potential to guide and inform decisions when looking for solutions in the transition towards more sustainable food systems.