Emerging plant based pet food proteins.

Plant-based proteins are becoming increasingly important sustainable pet food protein sources and as earth’s human and pet populations grow, so too does the demand for protein. Plant-based proteins have been used in human and animal nutrition for several years,these include soybeans, peas, lupin beans, potatoes, wheat and corn. A wide range of other sources are just now starting to become popular and widely available. The new plant protein sources are described as emerging plant-based proteins which are ingredients that are less used on the market but are slowly being adopted, or still largely in the evaluation stage. The emerging plant based proteins include fava beans, chickpeas, lentils, marrowfat peas, beans and rapeseed. When considering upcoming plant-based protein in pet food, it’s important to consider the sustainability of the product in the long term, beyond environmental sustainability as a pet food manufacturer must be able to assure a continued availability of the product as it rises in importance in the food supply. The competition from human demands reduces the supply available for pet food and animal feed this must be considered before production. The competition from human demands and livestock feed is obvious with soy press cake, potato proteins, grass and beet leaves, and brewer’s spent grains which are all byproducts but are now used as plant-based proteins. The latest upcoming group that are useful in the pet food industry as that meet these sustainability criteria are quinoa, duckweed, sunflower seeds, green leaves and microalgae. Seaweeds have been explored for livestock; read Pet food protein from duckweed carries a higher amino acid concentration than other plant proteins and is comparable to animal proteins including fishmeal in terms of protein content. Cultivated duckweed can provide more than 20 metric tons of yield on a single hectare of land – 5 tons of which are protein – in a year. Soy yields only 3 tons. The disadvantage of duckweed is that it cannot be grown year round in cooler climates. more