Study compares meat and poultry as protein sources
The report, from Lux Research, ‘De-risking Protein Strategies Using a Systems Approach: A Novel Analytical Framework’, used beef as a benchmark to compare the pros and cons of different protein sources around the world.
Analyst Camilla Stice said it was important to understand the relative merits of different protein sources given a rising world population and potential restrictions on resources.
“Protein is a critical nutrient in our diets, but one of the most resource-intensive to produce,” she said. “Creating sufficient protein for our growing population is becoming a critical issue for companies, consumers, and nations.”
Beef is the most resource-intensive protein to produce, consuming more fossil fuels than alternative protein sources such as chicken and salmon. The analysis found it takes 380 megajoules (MJ) of energy, the equivalent of nearly three gallons of gasoline, to produce one kilogram of beef protein. In comparison, chicken and salmon require only 340MJ/kg and 260MJ/kg, respectively, per kilogram of protein.
“To gauge protein security concerns, we used the concept of ‘beef parity’, a measure of all of the resources needed to produce 1kg of beef protein as a benchmark for the resource burden of other forms of protein,” said Stice.
“Our analysis demonstrates that there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution to protein resource use intensity. No single protein source emerges as a runaway winner, and each analysed source has opportunities for improvement – whether in protein quality, ease of production, or overall resource intensity. Small changes to production can have cascading impacts throughout the supply chain that could mitigate resource risk or make it worse,” she added.
Chicken stands out as the most labour-intensive of the protein sources in the study, requiring more people-per-protein than any other source analysed. Automated feeding and cleaning are among the biggest opportunities in reducing labour requirements, the report stated.
One of the problems with beef production is that it is a relative land-hog. This means innovations that reduce the land needed to produce protein from beef will likely be met with considerable willingness to pay from producers. Among the other protein sources in the study, chicken commands the next-largest land use, owing mainly to its need for land both for growing feed and for growing the chickens themselves, according to the report.
