Regional land use efficiency and nutritional quality of protein production

Strategies for achieving environmental sustainability of protein production vary regionally. In this study, a framework was applied that would quantify a region-specific contribution to global protein supply with a special focus on protein quality i.e. essential amino acid composition. The framework was applied in Scotland and showed that high-quality human-edible protein from that region currently emerges mainly from animal production. Considering future protein scenarios, the land requirement for pulses for producing a certain amount of essential amino acids in Scotland would be similar to the land requirement for potentially human-edible feeds needed in cattle production. Reducing the current use of agricultural by-products in livestock feeding would considerably increase the land use demand for other, potentially human edible feed crops.