The transition of aquafeeds from fishmeal and fish oil to alternatives has been in progress since the early 2000s. A wide variety of products are being investigated including microbial proteins, fish and animal processing waste, insect meal, algae and terrestrial plants. Soy, appears to be a promising alternative due primarily to the quantity and quality of protein. Concurrent with the shift toward alternative feedstuffs, there has been a growing awareness of the potential environmental effects of both aquaculture and agriculture, and a desire to make aquaculture “sustainable.” In 1990 the U.S. government passed a law (U.S. Code, Title 7, Section 3103) that defined sustainable agriculture and aquaculture.
In brief, sustainability is site-specific and over the long-term is required to:
I will present an examination of soy in aquafeed as it relates to the USA Title 7 language as well as the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 12, 13, 14, 15. Constance (2010 Sustainability 2 (1) 48-72) wrote “because the concept of sustainability is deeply contested, agribusiness is able to exploit the ambiguity surrounding the definition of sustainable and exercise power in attempts to frame sustainable agriculture in their favor.” It will be difficult to claim that intensive aquaculture is sustainable without sustainable feeds. In 2013 soybeans, grown in the USA, were certified by (xxx) as being sustainably produced. My presentation will show that this is not the case.