Project outline

Sustainability has become a dominant trend in modern societies. As a consequence, the ecological sustainability of food consumption has come under critical assessment. Food products of animal origin are especially critical with regard to their ecological sustainability. Since the majority of the population rejects the change towards vegan lifestyle, it is necessary to increase the sustainability of food and agriculture in other ways. The project contributes to the goal of realizing more sustainable food and agriculture by applying the concept of "sustainability transitions", which addresses the change of socio-technical systems towards higher sustainability standards of production and consumption. Against this background, it is the objective of this interdisciplinary research project to assess the potential for a "sustainability transition" of agriculture and food production by researching alternative protein sources. This objective is attained in two different ways:

- Research into alternative protein sources based on algae as meat substitutes. These products can be directly used for human consumption and, thus, immediately realize the sustainability advantages of reduced meat consumption.

- Research into alternative protein sources based on algae or insects for feeding livestock. This alternative feedingstuff would help to considerably reduce the large imports of genetically modified protein feedingstuffs. The analyses are conducted by using the examples of pig and broiler production.