Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Increasing demand for food with higher environmental standards is shaping agricultural activities toward more sustainable food systems. At the forefront of this discussion are strategies to reduce food waste and its impacts on social, economic, and environmental sustainability. In Canada, total annual waste is estimated at 35.5 MMT, valued at $49.5 billion. Coupled with this concern are the environmental impacts (greenhouse gases, land/water use) of the beef sector. The use of human-inedible foodstuffs as feed sources in livestock production systems is a solution to mitigate these challenges, given the unique role livestock play in converting feedstuffs to high quality protein. Climate extremes resulting in moisture deficits/excesses have threatened livestock feed security in several regions of Canada. The potential to replace standard ingredients in ruminant diets with food loss and waste, made available from increased regional processing of commodities for human consumption and access to retail waste, has many positive outcomes. Benefits include increased feed security, decreased cost of production, decreased land and water use, and increased public trust resulting from decreased competition for food vs feed. Although limited, research examining use of food waste in livestock production systems in North America has focused on animal performance with few studies examining environmental impact. My research program aims to examine the utilization of food loss and waste in cattle diets, with the intent to reduce the environmental burden associated with diversion to landfill while further improving the environmental sustainability of the beef sector in Canada. The proposed methodological approach consists of the use of bacterial and yeast inoculants to maintain nutritional quality of food waste during storage through an ensiling process, as well as a holistic environmental assessment of feeding ensiled food waste and all related inputs. A combination of mini silo and animal studies coupled with modeling will be used to ascertain how unique nutrient profiles of food waste can be used in cattle diets without compromise to animal health and productivity. Novel aspects of this program include ensiling waste using a combination of inoculants, animal outcomes associated with feeding ensiled waste and evaluating up-stream impacts (energy, fertilizer, land/water use), as well as environmental indices including greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions. This research generated from 11 HQP will contribute new knowledge regarding production practices and environmental implications associated with utilization of food waste in beef cattle diets in Canada. The science-based information generated will serve as a critical first step to develop feeding strategies and create sustainability metrics that can be utilized to mitigate Canada's food waste challenge, including examining incentives or regulation to shift current practices at the local or national level.