WWF’s progress towards removing habitat degradation from the global food system is hampered by the lack of accountability in the animal protein and feed sector which drives deforestation and conversion. We seek to gain this accountability through the development of a feed ingredient decision support tool (DST) that is fueled by a global hub of information to evaluate environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks of ingredients as well as those that supply them.
Animal protein production is the largest driver of habitat change. Habitat degradation and the over-exploitation of natural resources also are linked to human rights abuse and worker mistreatment. Thus, the production of animal protein and food creates enormous stress on both people and the planet. WWF is currently in the early stages of a global movement to eliminate habitat degradation from food supply chains. While there is progress on the slowing of habitat conversion for the rearing of farmed animals (cows, chickens, fish and swine), the habitat conversion for animal feed ingredients continues to grow because of a lack of transparency, traceability and accountability in supply chains.
The challenge of producing more food with fewer resources will require intensification of the animal protein production sector. Intensification creates a greater reliance on formulated feeds and those feeds, and the ingredients used to make them, are not under the control of producers, yet producers are held responsible for liabilities and risks that may affect their customers (retail/food service), their investors or consumers. Retailers are increasing their attention on feed related issues (see Costco and Tesco letters of support), but investors are as well (see FAIRR letter of support) because their investments in food companies may become “stranded assets” if the risk in these supply chains is not transparent. Thus, it is not only WWF that is concerned about the sustainability of feed ingredients, forward thinking animal protein producers are spotting the trends that have landed major retail chains in court.
For animal protein producers to increase production in a responsible manner, they must be equipped with the knowledge and information that allows them to identify risks – in real time - in feed ingredient supply chains as well as changing market preferences and demands. The purpose of this project is to shine the light on where, how and who produces the ingredients used in feeds for animal protein production beginning with salmon aquaculture in order to begin the transformation of the animal feed sector. We are starting with salmon because the sector has worked together to achieve common goals already. This goal is to create an ESG risk-based DST that is powered by an AI-enhanced global information hub on current impacts of ingredient production such that the most accurate and current knowledge of the current science as well as environmental, social and governance impacts of ingredient production can be shared publicly and catalyze ingredient decisions that are based on current science and values aided by transparency which disrupt the status quo. The DST will allow animal protein producers to avoid ingredients and ingredient suppliers that create the greatest impact and pose the greatest reputational and financial risks to downstream supply chain actors.
Once released, the tool will have direct application to avoiding ingredients produced by the clearing of natural habitat (legal or illegal) for row crops (Brazil, Russia, USA, etc.). The tool will also provide information on the stock status of fisheries to avoid species that are over-exploited (Chile, Norway, USA, Peru, Europe (north Atlantic fisheries). Additionally, the safeguards that are desired for workers will be on display through the transparency of policies around labor and working conditions that occur in specific countries as well as specific locales. Utilizing the human risks component of the tool will raise greater awareness on how production of ingredients can occur while providing the necessities for human well-being of workers. Fundamentally, we are seeking to have global application of the tool and create a race to the top in terms of performance such that the right actors are being rewarded for the specific attributes we expect from those who were underperformers in the past.
This project builds on existing research on protein demand changes in the developing and least developed regions of the world, as well as the patterns of climate and habitat change that will shift supply chains to different regions of the world. WWF will also merge our current efforts to decouple habitat degradation from commodity supply chains with this project to provide greater consensus around the real and perceived impacts of feed and feed ingredient production.
The work to create greater transparency and accountability in the animal feed sector is paramount for the sustainability of food systems. Without this accountability, feed ingredients will remain in the shadows and continue to consume a tremendous amount of the planet’s resources. To our knowledge, this is the first effort to truly confront these issues with a lens to promote greater stewardship in resources used through the production of animal feed. The sustainability of animal feed is one of the greatest challenges for our food system with direct implications for the emissions that contribute to climate change, the conversion of our natural ecosystems that buffer humans from climate change and zoonotic diseases and the protection of the biodiversity in habitats threatened by conversion.