The future generation has not only to manage a growing world population up to 9 billion people in 2050 (38% more than today) but also their demand for food. Additionally the request for high value proteins of animal origin will increase. Estimations predict an increased demand of 103 % for meat and 80 % for milk in 2050.

Facing these tasks it is important to manage land and natural resources. The production of protein for food and feed will grow due to improvement of agricultural techniques, plant and crop development etc. but also due to ability to prevent crop failures, pests and to use of natural resources sustainable.

For customers company and product information about their sustainability will become more and more important. The public awareness about not wasting resources has grown over the last decades. Sustainability is a key stone in the EU´s policy today. The scale will be carbon footprints which show the emission of fossil carbon for a company or a single product.

The use of animal by products (ABP) may help to reduce the carbon footprints. The processing of ABPs to produce protein rich feed ingredients such as PAP (processed animal protein) costs some energy, but on the other hand the impact on the climate of not processing them will be very much higher. Additionally if PAP are not used as feed they must be replaced by vegetable proteins. Their carbon footprints must also be taken into account.

Another hidden resource in PAPs is phosphorus (P). 85 % of total phosphorus in animals are deposited in non edible parts of slaughtered animals which are then processed into PAP. Depending on the protein content the phosphorus content can be 4-6%.

Phosphorus is an important essential and limited nutrient with no alternative substitutes. Phosphorus sources are said to last for only the next 60-150 years. All living organisms require phosphorus to grow and it forms part of important life sustaining molecules such as DNA and RNA. For example, the daily intake of human beings is 1 g P/d/head.

Especially high P-sources like PAP with a high digestibility (>80%) should preferably be used as feed and not as fertilisers. In fertilisers, the reduced plant availability of PAP-P and the diffuse loss due to erosion, leaching or crop loss are strong arguments for using P in animal feed.