3 Messages
Does oat residue as animal feed contradict plant-based ambitions?
Hey Oatly, got something on my mind - does the use of your oat residue as primarily animal feed contradict what you're trying to do in terms of drive a plant-based future?
I just got thinking about this recently upon reading your sustainability report. Granted, I'm a vegan, so am coming at this from both an ethical / moral and sustainability angle, but my trail of thought went:
most of your oat residue is repurposed as animal feed - therefore you're supporting animal agriculture - thus does this contradict what you stand / aim for in terms of reducing the prevalence of animial agriculture?
Are you selective in what companies or farms you provide feed to? Are they small scale farmers, rather than big, nasty, industrial-scale conglomerates? That would be good if so.
Are there other ways to use oat residue, and should these be prioritise by a plant-based company?
Love all you do, and look forward to hearing from you!
Jake
Asa
139 Messages
2 months ago
Hi Jake!
Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts here, we really appreciate it. And believe us when we say that how to handle our fiber residues in line with our values is something we’ve discussed for a long time!
So; first and foremost; as a food producer, we will always create residues – and this is quite a topic in itself, as there’s a lot of potential use for food industry waste to explore. We’ve done some, including attempts to make edible goodies (which turned out a lot trickier than we first thought!).
Much to your point about supporting the animal agriculture, it’s absolutely our wish to avoid producing animal feed. We’ve partnered up with a company specializing in using food industry waste sustainably (and according to a waste management hierarchy) and when used as feed, the farm must maintain a high level of animal welfare.
In terms of sustainability though it’s a bit more complex (surprise surprise!) than just stop using the residues as feed altogether. As mentioned about, we are keen to follow the waste management hierarchy. Repurposing our residues locally (nearby our oat factories) saves both land use and climate impact. If we didn’t allow our residues to be repurposed this way it would mean for the farmers to find nutrients elsewhere (such as soy concentrates, grown in South America for example).
This is why we stand by that this is (still) the most sustainable option.
I don’t know if you’ve read about this topic in depth before, but there’s a deep dive right here and here that goes into our reasoning behind this decision.
I hope this and the links will provide you with some further insights about this topic! Please let us know if you have any more questions or concerns.
All the best,
Åsa at Oatly
1