Farmed salmon the ‘greenest’ protein
A new study shows that ocean-raised salmon have a lower environmental cost than any traditional form of protein production.
Prepared by the Ottawa-based RIAS Inc, a recent study commissioned by the BC Salmon Farmers Association (BCSFA) examined the environmental footprint of BC farm-raised salmon compared to production of other food proteins.
Using a life-cycle analysis (LCA), which the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) defines as “a tool for the systematic evaluation of the environmental aspects of a product or service system through all stages of its life cycle,” the analysis compared different food systems based on several objective environmental measures such as energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, eutrophication potential, water use and land use.
The results from the study show that BC salmon farming has a lower total environmental cost than beef, chicken, or pork. Farm-raised salmon is 24% less costly to the environment than chicken, while beef has a cost that is 500% greater than salmon raised in an ocean environment. Farm-raised salmon had the lowest impact in GHG emissions, water-usage, land-usage, and eutrophication potential. Furthermore, compared to all other animals used for protein, farm-raised salmon have the best feed conversion ration, of just 1.2:1.
“Health professionals agree that salmon is by far the most healthy protein choice for people to eat, this study shows it’s also the most healthy protein for our planet,” said Jeremy Dunn, BCSFA Executive Director. “With world population estimated by the United Nations to grow by over two-billion by 2050, governments must consider the full environmental costs of the food we grow and eat, we have a global food supply and a global environment.”
