Future Directions for Sustainable Poultry Feeding and Product Quality: Alternatives from Insects, Algae and Agro-Industrial Fermented By-Products

Due to global increases in poultry meat and egg production, consumers request sustainable agricultural practices, requiring alternative solutions for future feeding. Global egg production increased by over 41% between 2000 and 2020, from 51 to 87 million tonnes, at an average increasing rate of 3%. Similarly, the production of poultry meat reached 145 million tonnes in 2023 and continues to increase, which amplifies the pressure on sustainable alternative feed solutions. Commercial poultry diets are typically based on a cereal (corn or wheat) as an energy source and a quality protein source, especially soybean meal (SBM), to provide essential amino acids. Soybean production is associated with deforesting and land use in several countries, sensitiveness to supply chains and price volatility. As a response to these challenges over the last decade, research and commercial innovation have intensively focused on alternative and novel feed resources that can be integrated into both broiler and layer diets. Some future candidate ingredients are insect meal, algae, agro-industrial by-products such as distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS), brewery spent grains (BSG) and fermented feedstuffs (oilseed cakes/meals). Literature data showed that moderate inclusion of these alternative ingredients can be partly integrated in poultry diets, without compromising egg or meat quality. In some cases, studies showed improvements of productive performances and specific quality traits (yolk color, fatty acids and antioxidant compounds), offering potential to valorize waste streams, improve local circularity and provide functional ingredients for animals and humans. However, challenges still remain, especially in terms of nutrient variability, digestibility limitations, higher processing costs and still-evolving regulations which constrain mainstream adoption of some of these potential future alternatives.