GOAL 2014: Alternative feed debate heats up

Because the pre-conference Aquafeed Sustainability Forum on Tuesday was presented to an unexpectedly full room, the debate about alternative fish feed ingredients spilled over into Thursday at the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s (GAA) Global Outlook for Aquaculture Leadership (GOAL) conference on Tuesday in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

With finite marine resources for fishmeal and fish feed, aquaculture producers are keen to find the right balance in feed formulations that not only produce high quality fish but are produced sustainably with minimal impact on the marine and terrestrial environments.

“Environmental impact is the responsibility of any production system,” said Andrew Mallison, director general of UK-based IFFO, The Marine Ingredients Organisation. “We have significant expectations and [marine ingredients] have responded, working with NGOs, identifying criteria for certification.” Terrestrial-based ingredients are under a fair amount of scrutiny as well.

Lukas Manomaitis of the U.S. Soybean Export Council, said the soy industry will be able to keep up with growing demand, getting better yields through traditional and advanced biotech methods. “It’s possible and it will be done,” he said. “Farmers want to continue farming for a long time. With marine ingredients we’re kind of guessing what we’re pulling out.”

Manomaitis added that genetically modified (GM) soy and other crops are the future of food. “It’s not a question of could you or couldn’t you [produce non-GM soy], it’s ‘how are you going to pay for it? The modern crop approach, it’s going to have to be GM.” U.S. soybean production is approximately 94 percent GM.

The “800-pound gorilla in the room,” as one attendee referred to China, is a major consumer of soybeans and a dominant player in the fish feed industry.

Ari Jadwin, founder of AquaFude in Chengdu, China, said Chinese producers are “terrified of anything GM” and are far more willing to accept products made with insect meal or other alternative feed ingredients. AquaFude sells feed mainly to trout and sturgeon farmers in western China. Producers there, he said, do not have a strong interest in foreign certification systems. “They have a bad taste in their mouths about a foreign group telling them how to do things. They don’t mind the knowledge, and great work can be done. But it can’t look the same way as western certification.

“We tried an approach based on sustainability; nobody cared. We tried an approach based on efficiency; nobody cared. We created a brand, and had the most success in the commercial space; a brand identified with safety and a more sustainable approach. That brought us measurable results.How do you control this 800-pound gorilla? You make sure that [the producer] is continuing to sell lots of fish,” he said. “If you take care of that, he doesn’t care what’s in the feed as long as it’s functional.”

Manomaitis countered by saying that China is a “huge consumer” of GM products. “There is no fear,” he said. “They’re moving toward positive approaches and are at the forefront of moving away from animal-based proteins.”

A U.S. soy farmer in the audience defended GM products and practices by saying that GM soy crops require less tillage, less diesel fuel and cut input costs and keep nearby waters cleaner.

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