Aquaculture - a sustainable way of getting animal protein

Perjantai 8.6.2018 klo 11.46 - Mikko Nikinmaa

Currently, roughly 3/4 of all agricultural land area is used for meat production. As it is still expected that consumption of animal protein is on the rise, obtaining it with cattle or pork (or even chicken) is becoming impossible, as there is no agricultural land available. A major change that releases agricultural land to the cultivation of crops and vegetables feeding humans, is an increasing use of fish, shellfish and crustaceans as the major source of animal protein. However, traditional fisheries as a source of fish flesh is out of the question, as already today the world's seas are overfished. The same is true for traditional aquaculture, which uses fish flour as the major feed component - increasing aquaculture production increases overfishing. However, aquaculture with major proportion of feed produced as land crops is a possible solution for increasing the role of aquaculture in sustainable animal protein production. Froehlich et al. (2018; PNAS 115, 5295-5300) have estimated, how the land use will change, if animal protein is predominantly produced in aquaculture, with major reductions in the roles of cattle and swine. As a result of the changed practise, a land area of the size of Indian subcontinent would become available for other uses by 2050. Such change would take place with the current increasing trend of animal protein use. If the trend is stopped, even more agricultural land can be used for other purposes. A change in cultivated fish species from carnivorous to herbivorous species will naturally help, but big strides have already been done to develop salmonid fodders with major plant components. Aquaculture (together with aquaponics, i.e. cultivating fsh together with soilless plant production) will undoubtedly play an increasing role in future food production.

Happy New Year?

Lauantai 31.12.2016 klo 11.31 - Mikko Nikinmaa

Hopefully the new year 2017 will bring forward good things for the environment. There are many possibilities - new approaches just require that we are not stuck in old ways of thinking.

I give just one example. Many people are concerned with gene modifications. Yet, the same people use cotton clothing; the likelihood that gene-modified cotton has been used for making cotton clothes is overwhelming. In addition, the use of pesticides in cotton cultivation is very high, meaning that the use of cotton clothing probably causes the deaths of millions of birds which eat contaminated insects. Further, cotton production uses both water and space, which would better be used for food production. So, all these things urge us to change from cotton use to something new...

We already have the possibility to change to the something new. It is possible to produce cotton-like threads from the long-fibred fir trees. Now that paper use is in decline and pulp industry is probably environmentally the most advanced, changing from paper as the major product to cloth would be both feasible and environmentally friendly.

Such change would be possible, but would require consumer pressure. If the consumers demand a change, that will happen (albeit slowly). We were able to stop acid rain in Europe, eeven though it required expenses. So why should we not change from cotton clothing to tree fibre-based clothing, as it is an environmental advance with little cost?