Though aquaculture can be one of our lowest impact forms of food production, there is still room for improvement, particularly when it comes to aquafeed. Feed production is the single largest source of aquaculture’s greenhouse gas emissions, making it a key target for sustainability interventions.
Aquafeed’s outsized carbon footprint can in part be explained by the prominence of soy as an ingredient, which accounts for about 40% of feed formulations. Soy expansion is driving the conversion of critical South American ecoregions, primarily the Amazon, the Cerrado, and the Gran Chaco. In a webinar for industry stakeholders, experts from The Nature Conservancy (TNC) discussed deforestation- and conversion-free (DCF) soy and key sourcing considerations for supply chain actors.