Closing loops

Arable farmers grow crops such as sugar beets, cereals and potatoes. Food, beverage and biofuel producers process the crops into products such as sugar, beer, chips, crisps and biofuels, striving to use these resources as effectively as possible and prevent food waste.

However, during production processes certain components are often left over because they cannot be used for the purposes of the production in question. These components can be processed into nutritious livestock feed: a co-product. Livestock farmers use these co-products to feed their cows and pigs, who in turn produce high quality and nutritious protein rich products for human consumption.

Even the manure produced by the livestock is used by farmers to fertilise their fields, so that their crops have fertile soil to grow in. With that step, the loop is closed, making maximum use of crops with a minimal impact on the environment.