The Sustainable Feed Mission is a Norwegian national initiative set to transform their food system though feeds. Bringing together industry, research, and policymakers, the mission aims to cut emissions, enhance food security, and strengthen Norwegian feed ingredient production.
Norway seeks to make its food system more self-sufficient through the Sustainable Feed Mission.
This initiative is part of a broader programme reducing reliance on imported feed ingredients. By integrating innovation, science-based assessment and cross-sector collaboration, they aim to set new global standards for sustainable aquafeed.
Norway’s aquaculture sector produces over 1.65 million tonnes of salmon annually, surpassing the entire EU’s aquaculture output. Decisions made in Norway regarding feed responsibility could have far-reaching implications for global carbon emissions, marine resource management and responsible supply chains.
One of the main challenges in sustainable feed production is defining clear and actionable criteria for what qualifies as a responsible feed ingredient.
BioMar has actively participated in shaping a structured framework for sustainability qualification, contributing
to Appendix 2, “Operationalizing Sustainability within a Qualification Framework”.
This framework integrates Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to quantify the impact of different feed ingredients. Alignment with European and global sustainability benchmarks to ensure Norwegian standards are internationally recognised A framework that enables Norwegian-produced feed ingredients to scale responsibly, reducing dependence on high-impact imports.
To replace 500,000-800,000 metric tonnes of imported feed ingredients, Norway must develop new supply chains, expand the use of novel bioresources and build industrial processing and transport infrastructure.
These challenges underscore the need for cross-sector collaboration between industry, government and research institutions to ensure that feed sustainability does not compromise energy security, biodiversity, or economic viability
BioMar is fully committed to making this vision a reality. Our engagement in the Sustainable Feed Mission allows us to advocate for high-impact, science-based solutions and ensure that industry perspectives are well represented.
While the mission is still in its early stages, its potential is enormous by aligning policy, industry innovation, and scientific rigour.
This initiative will influence national sustainability efforts and likely contribute to shaping the broader European and international agenda.
The Sustainable Feed Mission is more than a national effort; it is a blueprint to redefine responsible feed for the future of food production.
Results (6)
Forest, Land and Agriculture (FLAG) emissions will be important as the aquaculture industry transitions towards lower-carbon production. These emissions, now tracked under the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi), originate from land use and agricultural activities rather than from energy consumption.
Measuring impact is the first step towards reducing it. For years carbon calculations for soy in aquafeed relied on generic data, which does not reflect the reality of responsible farming. In 2019, together with ProTerra, we embarked on a mission to deliver science-backed, verified emissions data for key soy ingredients used in aquafeed.
The link between what we eat and how it impacts our health has never been clearer. The food we eat plays a vital role in our health, and when it comes to seafood, this connection runs even deeper. It is not just about what we eat, but about what our food eats.
The collaboration between Lunar, BioMar, Scottish Sea Farms, and Marks & Spencer is a great example of a local value chain in action, that starts in Scottish waters and ends on Scottish dinner tables. By working together, we can enhance the resilience of Scotland’s seafood supply chain, ensuring a responsible and efficient food system.
The aquaculture industry has focused on reducing carbon footprints for years, which is a key element of environmental responsibility. An overlooked factor lies beneath the water’s surface. Gases like methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases are greenhouse gases significantly more potent than carbon dioxide. While CO2 has dominated climate discussions, these lesser-known gases may significantly impact the environmental footprint of farmed shrimp.
Conventional farming has led to soil degradation, with an estimated 60 years of topsoil left if depletion continues. Regenerative agriculture offers a solution by improving soil microbiomes, which are crucial in creating symbiotic relationships with crops.