An article in the Star-Advertiser, “Better Feed Builds a Better Bird ,” discusses research by Rajesh Jha and his Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences students into locally grown feeds for chicken and tilapia.
Feed, which usually is imported from the Mainland, is a very large cost for local producers, as well as significantly raising the carbon footprint of their production. Locally grown inputs can lower feed costs and make raising such livestock much more ecologically sustainable. A recent feeding trial tested cassava, ground fish bones, and macadamia nut cake, which is left behind after the nuts are pressed for oil. Altogether, more than half of the imported corn and soy feed could be replaced by these.
The trial showed that using the local feeds can lower costs by 20 to 30 percent and also makes the chicken taste much better! The feeds he’s been trialing are “sustainable economically and environmentally and contribute to food and nutrition security,” Rajesh says.“And when you reduce imports, you reduce the environmental footprint. These byproducts are not going to the landfill. They promote industries of these items and create a market.” Win-win-win!