Research Council of Norway
About the project
By redesigning the local food systems around Tolga and Steinkjer, the project will identify solutions that reduce feed-food competition and environmental impacts, while also assessing social and economic effects.
Livestock play an important role in the food system, but their production also leads to environmental challenges such as climate change, pollution, and loss of biodiversity. In addition, they increase competition for arable land between animal feed and food for human consumption.
The FeedLoop project explores how livestock production can become more circular and sustainable. In a circular system, livestock are used to make use of resources that are not suitable for direct human consumption—such as by-products from agriculture or the food industry—and convert them into valuable food products like milk, meat, and eggs.
The project does not primarily focus on innovative feed sources, but rather on using the resources we already have in our regions in a smarter and more efficient way. In two Norwegian municipalities, Tolga and Steinkjer, local food systems will be reviewed and "redesigned" to explore how regional resources can be better utilized.
Using a data modelling tool developed in Sweden and adapted to Norwegian conditions, the project will demonstrate how biomass (such as grass, straw, or side streams from forestry and food production) can be allocated in ways that reduce conflict between animal feed and human food. At the same time, the project will assess the environmental, social, and economic effects of such changes—and what is required to enable change in practice.
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Background
Objectives
Participants