The Sustainable Feed Mission, a Norwegian national initiative, is poised to transform the country’s food system through innovative feed solutions. The mission brings together industry leaders, researchers, and policymakers with the goal of reducing emissions, enhancing food security, and bolstering domestic feed ingredient production.
Norway aims to increase self-sufficiency in its food system by reducing reliance on imported feed ingredients. This effort is part of a larger program that integrates innovation, science-based assessments, and cross-sector collaboration to establish new global standards for sustainable aquafeed.
Norway’s aquaculture sector produces over 1.65 million tonnes of salmon annually, exceeding the entire European Union’s aquaculture output. Decisions made in Norway regarding feed responsibility could have significant implications for global carbon emissions, marine resource management, and responsible supply chains.
A major challenge in sustainable feed production is establishing clear criteria for what constitutes a responsible feed ingredient. BioMar has been instrumental in developing a structured framework for sustainability qualification as outlined in Appendix 2: “Operationalizing Sustainability within a Qualification Framework.” This framework incorporates Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to evaluate the impact of various feed ingredients and aligns with European and global sustainability benchmarks.
To replace between 500,000-800,000 metric tonnes of imported feed ingredients annually, Norway needs to develop new supply chains and expand the use of novel bioresources while building industrial processing and transport infrastructure. These challenges highlight the necessity for collaboration across industry sectors, government bodies, and research institutions to ensure that achieving feed sustainability does not compromise energy security or biodiversity.
BioMar is committed to realizing this vision by advocating high-impact science-based solutions and ensuring that industry perspectives are represented within the Sustainable Feed Mission. Although still in its early stages, this initiative holds substantial potential by aligning policy with industry innovation and scientific rigor.
This mission will influence national sustainability efforts while potentially shaping broader European and international agendas. It represents more than just a national endeavor; it serves as a blueprint for redefining responsible feeds essential for future food production systems.
The measurement of impact marks an initial step towards reduction efforts. For years carbon calculations related to soy used in aquafeed relied on generic data not reflecting responsible farming practices accurately. In 2019 BioMar partnered with ProTerra aiming at delivering verified emission data specific key soy components utilized within aquafeeds which would be vital under Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) tracking Forest Land Agriculture (FLAG) emissions originating from land-use agricultural activities instead relying solely upon energy consumption metrics traditionally applied until now
Additionally noteworthy remains link between dietary choices health implications emphasizing seafood’s critical role therein recognizing significance beyond mere consumption patterns including evaluating dietary sources consumed themselves such recognition forms basis understanding deeper interconnections existing ecosystems impacting broader environmental considerations extending beneath aquatic surfaces incorporating potent greenhouse gases like methane nitrous oxide fluorinated variants alongside conventional CO2 metrics typically dominating climate discourse albeit lesser-known counterparts exerting considerable influence particularly concerning farmed shrimp contexts previously overlooked