While fishmeal is favoured by farmers because of its protein content, other protein sources are challenging its place as an animal feed.
Protein rich substitutes
Farmers and feedstuff producers value fishmeal mainly because of its high protein content and health enhancing nutrients. These characteristics are however not only found in fishmeal, but to different degree also in vegetable based products like rapeseed, soybean, corn and gluten. It is also possible to use terrestrial byproducts like meal from meat, blood, bone and feathers. Alternative marine-based substitutes from crustaceans, krill and algae are also useable as substitutes, and these sources may become more important in the future (Tacon 2008).
The common denominator of all of these organic substances is that they have a high content of protein and some contain omega-3 acids. Soybeans have a particularly high protein content and also contain favorable acids which have made it a very common substitute and complement to fishmeal. Since soybean meal is the most fitting and widespread vegetable alternative to fishmeal, I will in the statistical examinations in this paper focus on the relationship among fishmeal and soybean meal. A qualitative discussion of other vegetable substitutes will follow in chapter 6.
Production of soybeans
Soybean meal is the most used vegetable protein feed in the production of animal feeds. The production process is similar to that of fishmeal: The beans are crushed and then cooked to approximately 60°C. The beans are then squeezed to remove any liquids, then toasted and subsequently cooled. Depending on whether the hulls removed prior to cooking are added back to the mixture or not, the soybean meal will have a protein content of 44 to 47 per cent.
The US has historically been the largest producer of soybean meal in the world followed by China and South American countries. In the 2009/2010 harvest7 the total world production was 165 million tons of soybean meal, which is about 25 times the global fishmeal production. The US and China were each responsible for 23 per cent of total world production in the 09/10 season, and it is estimated by the USDA that China will surpass the US in the forthcoming years as the leading producer of soybean meal to meet its increasing demand for protein (USDA 2007). Brazil and Argentina each had 16 per cent of the 2009/2010 global harvest while the EU, India and Mexico produced 6, 3 and 2 per cent respectively. This means that the top four producers of soybean meal hold nearly 80 per cent of the global production.
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