– Providing high-quality protein:

The amino acid composition of animal protein meal is closer to that of animal body proteins, which can better meet the animal’s requirements for various essential amino acids and has a high biological value. For example, fish meal is a high-quality animal protein meal, and its content of essential amino acids such as lysine and methionine is high and well-balanced, which can provide efficient protein nutrition for animals and promote their growth and development.

– Promoting digestion and absorption:

The proteins from animal protein meal sources usually have good digestibility. After being consumed by animals, they can be quickly digested and absorbed, providing timely nutritional support for the animals. Take whey protein meal as an example. It is widely used in piglet feed. Because it is quickly digested and absorbed, it can meet the nutritional needs of piglets for rapid growth. At the same time, it can also reduce the digestive burden of the piglets’ gastrointestinal tract and lower the risk of diseases such as diarrhea.

– Improving feed palatability:

 Animal protein meal has a unique smell and flavor, which can increase the attractiveness of the feed and improve the animal’s feed intake. For example, meat and bone meal has a certain meat flavor. Adding an appropriate amount of meat and bone meal to some livestock and poultry feeds can make the feed more appealing to animals, making them more willing to eat, thus ensuring that the animals consume sufficient nutrients.

– Providing special nutritional factors:

Animal protein meal often contains some special nutritional components, such as immunoglobulin, growth factors, etc. These components have a positive promoting effect on the health and growth of animals. For instance, fish meal is rich in vitamin B complex, vitamin A, vitamin D, and some unknown growth factors, which can enhance the animal’s immunity and disease resistance and improve the animal’s production performance.

Although animal protein meal has an irreplaceable role in feed, plant protein meal also has certain advantages in some aspects. However, animal protein meal is unlikely to be completely replaced by plant protein meal in the short term. The reasons are as follows:

Advantages of plant protein meal

– Abundant resources and low cost: The raw materials for plant protein meal are widely sourced, such as crops like soybeans, corn, and wheat, with large yields, relatively stable supplies, and relatively low costs. Take soybean protein meal as an example. With the expansion of soybean planting areas and the continuous improvement of processing technology, the output of soybean protein meal has been increasing year by year, which can meet the needs of large-scale feed production. Moreover, the price is relatively stable, which helps to reduce the production cost of feed.

– Good sustainability:

The production process of plant protein meal is relatively environmentally friendly and has a small impact on the environment. Compared with the production of animal protein meal, the production of plant protein meal does not require the consumption of a large amount of animal resources, nor does it produce a large amount of animal waste and greenhouse gas emissions. For example, during the production of pea protein meal, its carbon emissions and resource consumption are much lower than those in the production of animal protein meal such as fish meal, which is in line with the requirements of sustainable development of modern animal husbandry.

– Reducing the risk of disease transmission:

Plant protein meal does not carry the risk of animal disease pathogens, which can effectively avoid the problem of disease transmission caused by the use of animal-derived feed. In some areas with a high incidence of animal diseases, using plant protein meal as a feed raw material can reduce the disease prevention and control pressure of the farm and ensure animal health and farming safety.

Reasons why animal protein meal cannot be replaced

– Irreplaceable nutritional characteristics:

As mentioned above, the amino acid composition of animal protein meal is more reasonable, and its biological value is higher. It has unique advantages in meeting the animal’s demand for high-quality protein. Especially for some animals with high requirements for protein quality, such as shrimps and crabs in aquaculture, animal protein meal is an essential source of nutrition. Research shows that using fish meal in shrimp feed can significantly increase the growth rate and disease resistance of shrimps, and currently, it is difficult for plant protein meal to completely replace the role of fish meal in shrimp feed.

– Processing technology and quality stability:

The production process of animal protein meal is relatively mature, and the product quality is stable. After a long period of development, the processing technology of animal protein meal has been very perfect, which can ensure that the nutritional components and quality indicators of the product are relatively stable. However, in the processing of plant protein meal, it may be affected by various factors such as raw material varieties, production areas, and processing technology, resulting in certain fluctuations in product quality. For example, the protein content and amino acid composition of soybean protein meal produced from soybeans in different production areas may be different, which brings certain difficulties to the precise design of feed formulas.

– Verification of animal breeding effects:

 Animal protein meal has a long history of application in animal breeding, and its breeding effects have been widely verified and recognized. Farmers are very familiar with the use effects and characteristics of animal protein meal and have accumulated rich experience in long-term breeding practices. However, the application of plant protein meal in some animal breeding is still in the stage of continuous exploration and optimization, and it requires more time and practice to prove its long-term use effects and safety.

Both animal protein meal and plant protein meal have their own roles and advantages in feed, and they complement each other rather than replace each other. In the future feed industry, with the continuous development of technology and the in-depth study of animal nutritional needs, the two will be rationally used in combination according to different animal species, growth stages, and breeding environments to achieve the best breeding effect and economic benefits.