Restriction lift date: 2030-12-31
Evaluating the farm-level sustainability of traditional and alternative sources of protein in the Republic of Ireland
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Date
2025
Authors
Merlo, Marie
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University College Cork
Published Version
Abstract
The agricultural sector is under pressure globally to meet its main targets of food provision and food security, while limiting, or even decreasing, its environmental impact. At the European level, several policy instruments are being used to implement environmental targets and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from several sectors, including agriculture. The agricultural sector fits within the Effort Sharing Regulation, alongside small industry, waste, buildings and domestic transport sectors. Under the Effort Sharing Regulation, European member states set a national emission reduction target, collectively contributing to a 40% reduction in emissions by 2030, compared to 2005. The National Emissions Ceilings Directive (European Parliament, 2016) also lays out the emission reduction commitments for five air pollutants including nitrous oxide and ammonia. The Common Agricultural Policy is one of the main policy instruments, alongside the Nitrate Directive, through which the target the agricultural sector needs to reach can be achieved. Each member state is responsible for its own National Strategic Plan under the Common Agricultural Policy framework. The Republic of Ireland (Ireland hereafter) is one of the only countries, in the European Union and globally, that set a specific emission reduction target for its agricultural sector. Agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are mandated to decrease by 25% by 2030, compared to 2018 levels (Government of Ireland, 2022a). The Irish agricultural sector relies heavily on pasture-based, livestock production, the output of which is an important source of protein in the human diet. Protein is a critically important macronutrient, necessary in human nutrition, but in its production, it is associated with generating the majority of the Irish agricultural sector’s environmental emissions. Ireland is also an important contributor to global food and protein security, exporting a large majority of its livestock products, but its agricultural sector is the single largest sectoral contributor (38%) to national GHG emissions (EPA, 2024a).
When evaluating protein production, but also when designing agricultural policies, several dimensions of sustainability must be considered. This research aims at evaluating and comparing different protein production systems in Ireland, across a suite of sustainability indicators and from a land use perspective. A holistic approach was adopted in this thesis, in the development of those indicators, using economic, environmental and nutritional dimensions. Associating nutritional sustainability with economic and environmental sustainability has scarcely been done in the existing literature. The economic sustainability of farms needs to be evaluated to ensure farmers have access to enough resources, and that any policy development will not adversely affect their livelihood. Environmental sustainability is assessed to address the growing negative impact of the agricultural sector, and in particular of the protein sector, on climate change and the environment. In addition, nutritional sustainability is considered, accounting for the agricultural sector’s primary functions of producing food and guaranteeing food security. Traditional and alternative sources of protein were considered, and both protein quantity and quality were included in the analysis.
The Teagasc National Farm Survey dataset, which is part of the European Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN), is used to develop sustainability indicators to evaluate protein production in Ireland and to address the main research question, which is how does the production of different traditional, alternative and novel sources of protein compare in terms of economic, environmental and nutritional sustainability? The motivation for addressing this question is the need to perform a holistic evaluation when assessing the production of protein sources, to best inform policy design. This research question is examined through four sub-topics: (1) a comparison of animal and plant-based protein production in Ireland; (2) an evaluation of different crop rotation scenarios in Ireland based on the performances of individual crops; (3) an evaluation of the net contribution of Ireland to global protein security and the effects of different environmentally driven policy scenarios on this contribution; (4) an evaluation of grass as a potential novel protein source for direct human consumption.
The novel findings from this thesis show that the sustainability performance of protein sources depends on the dimension considered. Milk protein production is more economically efficient than all other animal-based and plant-based products considered, but it is the protein production system associated with the highest level of environmental emissions. Plant-based protein sources show good environmental and nutritional performances, but their economic performance is well below that of milk. Beef and sheep meat protein production is less efficient than all counterparts for almost all the sustainability dimensions considered. Moreover, results show that integrating legumes into existing cereal-based crop rotations in Ireland could lead to an improvement in farm-level economic, environmental and protein performances, therefore not threatening protein security nor farmers’ livelihood.
However, certain policy paths that involve livestock unit reductions to reach emission reduction targets might hinder Ireland’s contribution to global protein security, depending on the type of livestock targeted and the extent of the reduction. Such reductions are proposed as part of a diversification strategy of the Irish agriculture with the aim of reducing national GHG emissions. The strategy would include an increase in organic farming, biomass production and afforestation with the associated land use changes resulting in livestock unit reductions, which might reduce protein production. Following on this potential decrease in livestock units, considering grass as a protein source for direct human consumption instead of using it as a feed source for ruminants presents environmental opportunities, in addition to nutritional challenges depending on whether or not grass yields are optimized. Finally, the lack of a value chain for plant-based protein production within the country needs to be addressed if plant-based protein sources are to be economically viable.
Overall, the findings suggest agricultural policy design should follow a holistic approach when it comes to designing sustainable food systems. This is particularly true for protein production systems, as protein is at the centre of several challenges facing the agricultural sector. Policy decisions should account for economic, environmental and nutritional implications simultaneously, considering both opportunities and trade-offs associated with a potential protein transition involving land use changes. While a protein transition away from animal-based protein production towards more arable-based systems is mainly motivated by environmental concerns, economic and nutritional implications also need to be considered.
Future research should aim at evaluating further policy pathways in light of the three sustainability dimensions used in this research. Future research could also focus on different macronutrients and micronutrients in addition to protein. Sustainability indicators could be extended to include a social dimension, and consumers acceptability when it comes to a protein transition could also be investigated. Moreover, this research was conducted using data from the FADN, so it could be replicated across the European Union to investigate regional differences and allow for a national or regional tailoring of agricultural and food policy. The latest Common Agricultural Policy reform indeed allowed member states to develop National Strategic Plans, recognizing the heterogeneity of farm and agricultural systems across the European Union. Finally, a composite index could be developed using the sustainability dimensions investigated in this thesis as well as social sustainability. While this approach contains several challenges, it would allow a straightforward comparison using harmonized data.
Description
Keywords
Agriculture , Protein , Sustainability
Citation
Merlo, M. 2025. Evaluating the farm-level sustainability of traditional and alternative sources of protein in the Republic of Ireland. PhD Thesis, University College Cork.