News Release

New report: how green are your food choices?

Oct 11, 2016

NEW REPORT: HOW GREEN ARE YOUR FOOD CHOICES? FARM-RAISED SALMON - LOWEST OVERALL ENVIRONMENTAL COST FOR PROTEIN

CAMPBELL RIVER, B.C. – A detailed assessment of consumers’ most common protein choices shows salmon raised in the ocean have the lowest overall cost to the environment. A new study prepared for the BCSFA by Ottawa based RIAS Inc. examines the evidence from life-cycle analyses in the literature on the environmental footprint of B.C. farm-raised salmon compared to production of other food proteins.

Through a life-cycle analysis (LCA), which the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) defines as “a tool for the systematic evaluation of the environmental aspects of a product or service system through all stages of its life cycle,” it is possible to compare different food systems based on several objective environmental measures. The most common indicators in an ISO standardized method for measuring a “cradle-to-farm gate” approach across the animal or crop’s life are: energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, eutrophication potential, water use and land use.

Based on the valuation of greenhouse gases, land use, water use, and eutrophication, B.C. salmon farming has a lower total environmental cost than beef, chicken, or pork. Farm-raised salmon is 24% less costly to the environment than chicken, while beef has a cost that is 500% greater than salmon raised in an ocean environment.

B.C. farm raised salmon ($0.59/kg) has the lowest overall environmental cost of any of the major protein options available to consumers today.
Farm-raised salmon is 24% less costly to the environment than chicken ($0.73/kg) to almost 500% less costly than beef ($3.45/kg).

“Health professionals agree that salmon is by far the most healthy protein choice for people to eat, this study shows it’s also the most healthy protein for our planet,” said Jeremy Dunn, BC Salmon Farmers Association Executive Director. “With world population estimated by the United Nations to grow by over two-billion by 2050, governments must consider the full environmental costs of the food we grow and eat, we have a global food supply and a global environment.”

BCSFA members have committed to responsible farming and sustainable growth, and have achieved stringent third-party environmental certifications that audit their performance. B.C. is the first and only salmon farming region in the world 100% certified by the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s Best Aquaculture Practices, B.C. is home to North America’s only Certified Organic Chinook salmon farms, and farmers raising Atlantic salmon have committed to being 100% certified by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council’s salmon standard by 2020. Members are in the midst of investing more than $130 million over the next two years to support new growth and infrastructure improvements designed to increase environmental performance.

Fast Facts

B.C. farm raised salmon ($0.59/kg) has the lowest overall environmental cost of any of the major protein options available to consumers today.
Farm-raised salmon is 24% less costly to the environment than chicken ($0.73/kg) to almost 500% less costly than beef ($3.45/kg).
GHG Emissions: Farm raised salmon produce less GHG emissions than any commercially raised food animal.
Water Use: B.C. farm-raised salmon was found to have consistently lower water use than other types of animal farming, using only a small fraction of the water compared to other species.
Energy Use: Over 90% of cumulative energy use for farm-raised salmon is from feed production. Overall, the evidence indicates that the life-cycle energy intensity for farm-raised salmon is better than beef.
Land Use: Overall, studies have found that production of feed for B.C. farm-raised salmon requires much less land than used in the production of most other species. Over 90% of land use for farm-raised salmon is from feed production.
Eutrophication Potential: Evidence suggests that B.C. farm-raised salmon has lower eutrophication potential than beef.
Salmon are the most efficient of all commercially raised farm-fed animals in converting feed into a kilogram of body weight, an important metric when assessing the sustainability of a food animal production system. B.C. farm-raised salmon have an average feed conversion ration (FCR) of 1.2:1 compared to chicken at 1.7:1 and beef which can be as high as 9.1:1 – close to 10 times less efficient than salmon.
Members of the BCSFA produced 75,000 tonnes of salmon in 2015, which is about 95% of the total provincial harvest of farm-raised salmon. Over 95% of the salmon raised in B.C. are Atlantic salmon.
B.C. salmon farmers have 20 social and economic partnerships with coastal First Nations – and are working towards many more. 78% of B.C’s annual harvest is covered under these agreements.