View From Europe


By Colin Ley


Maybe it’s time to fast-forward to 2040 Let’s forget about Brexit and focus on where we’ll all be in 2040. Surely the exit deal will be settled by then. That, at least, is the approach taken by the National Farmers Union


(NFU) of England & Wales, who used their recent annual conference to release their ‘Future of Food 2040’ report, complete with talk of farmers needing to be prepared for seismic changes over the next 20 years. Gazing ahead to a farming world of robots, vertical farms and


virtual fencing, the union said its members will need to evolve socially, technologically and environmentally over the next two decades in the face of massive changes in what we’ll be eating, how we’ll be buying it and how it will be produced. Unfortunately, just like us and Brexit, farmers can’t simply fast-


forward to 2040, skipping the years between now and then to emerge into a bright new world of fabulous production, wonderful global trade deals and loads of money. Even if that vision of the future sounds like something you might write on the side of a campaign bus, it’s going to take a lot of time and effort to realise the NFU’s farming future, a point clearly understood by 2040 report author, Dr Andrea Graham, the union’s head of policy services. “Planning for that future must start now and ‘business as usual’


will not be an option,” she said, “Whatever scenarios play out post-Brexit, the most critical ask


from this report is for an enabling of future domestic agricultural policy which allows farmers (and feed compounders!) to have the best possible tools and support to enable them to adapt and take advantage of the opportunities that will present themselves over the coming years.” NFU president, Minette Batters, agreed: “Farming and food


production is on the brink of a revolution which will see the food we eat and how we produce it undergo a huge change.” To adjust to such movement, she added, farmers need to improve


their risk management, their farming transparency and their business sustainability. “Agriculture has a bright and innovative future,” said Ms Batters.


“But to ensure we’re able to take full advantage of the technological advances that are on the horizon it is crucial that farm businesses are not only given the support they need to survive and thrive now, but that they start now to plan and prepare for the future. “Failure to do so will mean these advantages and opportunities


are simply grasped elsewhere, risking both the UK’s current and future food security.” For those of us concerned primarily with the demands and


opportunities of providing feed for livestock in 2040, and beyond, the report’s view on meat prospects is encouraging. It states, for example, that people will continue to enjoy eating meat well into the future and


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that it will still be seen as a good source of protein and vitamins, as well as continuing to deliver one of the key drivers of purchasing behaviour, namely taste. However, increasing resource and energy costs and pressures


from climate change may drive up the cost of meat, adds the report, followed by the stark warning that there is no room for complacency from the British farming sector. “In-vitro meat and insect protein may well grow in popularity


depending on advances making these protein sources more palatable, and the ability for them to be produced cost-effectively at scale,” it’s stated.


“The increasing popularity of more flexitarian diets (diets that are


predominantly vegetarian with occasional meat and fish consumption) is likely to continue, with 41% of meat eaters currently classified as “flexitarian” and the percentage of ‘meat-free’ evening meals on the rise in Britain, based on research findings from Kantar Worldpanel. The point is also made, that increasing ‘flexitarianism’ doesn’t


necessarily signify a shift towards alternative protein sources, such as pulses, but might actually provide some opportunities for product development. The report also draws attention to a recent FAO forecast that global


meat consumption is set to double by 2050, adding that the increase in meat eating will mostly take place in developing countries, due to rising incomes and urbanisation. I hope you agree that looking ahead, 20 or even 30 years, helps


to clear the mind of all that we’re currently going through. It’s a good reminder also that the fog will clear eventually.


Insect feed expansion Picking up on the NFU’s insect protein observations, and having written extensively about insects being about to enter the feed chain, for many years, it’s encouraging to see the sector is finally starting to deliver in line with the bold projections of the past. The theory of harvesting insects for food and feed has always been


appealing, and well worth the media coverage it’s been given to date. Unfortunately, the reality of achieving commercial feed production has remained just that bit out of reach, or at least it has until now. My current enthusiasm for the subject, however, is due to the


unveiling of a genuine investment and reward plan by the perfectly named Insect Technology Group (ITG), who acquired the Belgian insect feed company, Millibeter, late last year. Based at Turnhout, Antwerp, the Millibeter operation, recently


rebranded as Circular Organics, uses the black soldier fly to convert EU-approved organic substrates, such as vegetable waste, into high level fish feed and pharmaceutical products. Blessed with the backing of their new owners, Circular Organics


is set to build its first ‘industrial-scale’ factory in the Benelux countries, with commissioning due by the end of 2019. Plans have also been drawn for several additional EU-based production plants to follow over the next three to four years. “Once this first development is commissioned we would hope


the next plants will follow pretty rapidly,” said Jason Drew, ITG’s Chief Executive Officer, adding that the follow-on developments would most probably be similar in size and capacity to the company’s standard


Comment section is sponsored by Compound Feed Engineering Ltd www.cfegroup.com


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