From chemical fingerprints to environmental footprints: Advancing feed production through near-infrared spectroscopy

Animal feed production involves balancing nutritional quality, profitability and environmental sustainability. Although near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is currently used for real-time quality control of feed ingredients, we demonstrate that NIRS can also predict their environmental sustainability in a resource-efficient way. We use NIRS to determine ingredient origins and combine these with global spatially-explicit life cycle assessment (LCA) to estimate environmental footprints. By incorporating ingredient prices and transport, we then optimize feeds towards the triple goals of quality, profitability and sustainability. We show 3.3-39% reductions in climate change and land stress impacts on biodiversity while reducing profitability by only 0.82-2.4% over current production and ensuring quality. Our approach provides a suite of optimal feed ratios and identifies footprint-profitability trade-offs, aiding decision-makers in moving towards more environmentally sustainable feed. We conclude that NIRS-LCA is a powerful combination for enhancing sustainability that can be extended beyond feed to food, fiber and other biobased commodities.