Feed to Food - Aquaculture

The world’s population is increasing exponentially and with it its demand for food.
This increased demand for food is causing problems regarding food security.

The production of animal protein requires feed, the rate at which an animal converts food into tissue is called the food conversion rate. The lower the food conversion rate is, the more efficient the animal is at converting feed into protein. In this blog, I’m going to be comparing the food conversion rates of farm-raised fish, poultry, and cattle. Hopefully, this comparison will help you make better choices in the foods you consume.

The most environmentally friendly option is to cut animal protein out of your diet entirely, however, this isn’t an option for a large part of the population.

As seen in the image below, farm-raised fish have the lowest feed conversion rate, followed by poultry, hogs, and lastly cattle. As you can see, farm-raised fish is roughly 6x more efficient in converting feed into animal protein than cattle. Next to this farmed salmon production emits fewer greenhouse gasses than cattle production. Making fish the most environmentally friendly animal protein available.

So if you haven’t yet decided what to make for dinner tonight and you aren’t vegan, maybe try some salmon instead of a steak. This way you help the environment and not only your belly will be satiated but also your conscience.

Global Aquaculture Alliance. (2021). https://www.aquaculturealliance.org/what-we-do/why-it-matters/. Retrieved from https://www.aquaculturealliance.org/what-we-do/why-it-matters/