Browsing by Subject "Sustainable"

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Development of highly digestible fish feeds from locally available resources in Iran
(2025) Salehi, Hamed; Focken, Ulfert
In 2012, global aquaculture production (excluding aquatic plants) was 63.5 million tons, increasing to 94.4 million tons by 2022—a growth of 48%. In Iran, production rose by 62% during the same period, from 296,514 to 480,624 tons. Iran is a leading producer of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss W.), contributing 15-21% of the global supply from 2012 to 2022. However, aquafeed, which accounts for 70% of production costs and 80% of environmental effluents, has been impacted by a decline in fish meal production in 2023. This may increase costs, especially for carnivorous species like rainbow trout, necessitating alternative protein sources. Currently, canola meal, a potential plant-based protein, is not widely used in Iran due to poor utilization by fish. Furthermore, local poultry by-products are viewed as low-quality protein sources compared to those in countries like Germany, due to a lack of processing technologies, which restricts their utilization in aquafeed industry. Therefore, some of these products like blood and feather meals are realised not comparable to fish meal in feeding rainbow trout for the aquafeed industry in Iran. Nutrient eutrophication in water bodies necessitates development of environmentally friendly aquafeed out of highly-digestible feed components, as well. Therefore, this research was conducted to assess the digestibility of various feed components, including poultry by-products such as PBM, BM, FeM, PPCon and plant-based proteins like CM and SBM, in rainbow trout. The test ingredients were incorporated into a semi-purified casein-based diet at a 30:70 ratio, with TiO₂ used as a marker, and then fed to the experimental fish. Feces were collected using the settling method in 57-liter aquaria. The apparent protein digestibility coefficients for PBM, FeM, PPCon, BM, CM, and SBM were 73%–93%, 73%–96%, 100%, 87%, 94%, and 97%, respectively. The most digestible feed components in terms of CP were chosen to create five fish-meal-free diets, with increasing levels of CM ranging from 20% to 40%, to compare with a casein-based diet in terms of growth performance and apparent digestibility in juvenile rainbow trout. Subsequently, the 35% CM diet, which achieved the least cost FCR, was slightly modified and extruded to feed fattening rainbow trout in tanks. This diet was then compared to a pelleted caseinbased diet to assess growth performance and nutrient effluents in tanks and simultaneously, the assessment of CP, CL,OMdigestibility as well as the availability of P in juvenile rainbow trout in aquaria set-up using the settling method. This extruded grow-out feed, which included 35% CM and approximately 32% highly digestible poultry by-products, proved to be comparable to the highly digestible semi-purified casein-based diet in terms of supporting growth performance and body criteria in rainbow trout. The utilization of macronutrients like CL, CP, and OM in this extruded feed was remarkably similar to that of the control feed (p>0.05). However, the P load from this practical diet was higher in the water compared to the control feed (p<0.05). This issue could potentially be addressed by lowering the phosphorus concentration in the feed for fish of that size and considering the phosphorus availability of each component used in the diet. This investigation showed that when terrestrial protein sources are properly combined to provide all essential nutrients to the fish, feeds without FM can not only promote high growth performance but also enable efficient nutrient utilization in rainbow trout. Lastly, properly processed poultry by-products can serve as valuable protein sources for the growing aquafeed industry in developing countries like Iran.
Practicing the pot culture: pursuing sustainable agronomic management techniques for indoor medicinal cannabis cultivation
(2025) Massuela, Danilo Crispim; Graeff-Hönninger, Simone
With the legalization of cannabis cultivation in Germany, the country took an important step into becoming one of the major economies to legalize the cultivation of cannabis for personal use in the EU. In addition, the demand for cannabis products in different sectors is constantly increasing, and further rapid growth is forecasted. The institutionalization and representation of cannabis cultivation in the scientific literature are paramount to enabling efficient, secure, sustainable, and equitable good cultivation practices in the German cannabis industry and governmental decision-making processes. While exploring the potential of medicinal cannabis production, there is also the necessity to cultivate significant amounts of inflorescences to supply this craving demand. Indoor cultivation systems are the preferred method. The system is characterized by the highest degree of control over environmental variables of light (intensity, spectrum, duration), carbon dioxide concentration, temperature, air (humidity and distribution), water and nutrients (irrigation regimes and fertilizer – composition and concentration), and management techniques. Besides the mentioned advantages above, these systems are discussed to be the most unsustainable form of cannabis cultivation, with a high carbon footprint, energy demand, and resource utilization. Considering the absence of peer-reviewed scientific information in the cannabis industry, many businesses rely on management techniques from non-peer-reviewed sources, like commercial datasheets or gray literature. Much of the research in this field is conducted privately by companies in the cannabis industry. This thesis aims to contribute to the scientific knowledge of cannabis cultivation. The primary objective of this thesis was to investigate the production of medicinal cannabis in indoor cultivation systems. The specific focus was on applying agronomic management techniques to optimize yield components of medicinal cannabis. More precisely, emphasis was given to the balancing act of inflorescence biomass accumulation and the concentration of CBD in the inflorescences over time under abiotic stress induction, such as pruning, nutrient, and water deprivation. The effect of each tested agronomic management technique on yield components is presented in publications Ⅰ-Ⅲ. Publication I investigated the optimum harvest time and canopy management based on the total accumulated CBD yield. The findings highlighted that nine weeks of flowering was considered the optimum harvesting time for the tested genotype, as no significant enhancement in CBD yield was found after that. Additionally, it was demonstrated that pruning techniques can modify plant architecture and growth, leading to different inflorescence allocations in plant height. Inflorescences at the top position have significantly higher CBD concentrations. Thus, applying pruning techniques like topping can enhance CBD yield due to optimized canopy formation and area utilization in indoor cultivation systems. Publication II examined the impact of induced nutrient deprivation on plant biomass and CBD yields and the nutrient use efficiency of N, P, and K for three fertilizer concentrations of organic and mineral fertilizers. The results highlighted the dynamics of nutrient accumulation and re-mobilization among plant organs over time and the efficiency of nutrient utilization when plants are exposed to nutrient deprivation during flowering. Finally, inducing nutrient stress at the flowering stage could increase plant nutrient use efficiency and reduce fertilizer inputs without penalizing yields. The re-mobilization of already acquired nutrients presents this compensation. Publication III evaluated drought stress treatments' influence on CBD concentration and plant biomass production. As water and irrigation techniques are of paramount agronomical importance, the impact of moderate and severe drought treatments for two high-CBD genotypes with significantly different growth characteristics and water demands was tested. The drought events occurred at three phenological stages of inflorescence formation and maturation. Results highlighted different genotypic reactions and the adverse effects of applying severe stresses, significantly affecting photosynthesis, respiration, and plant water status. On the other hand, applying moderate stress can enhance water use efficiency by reducing water inputs without penalizing yield. Furthermore, the findings of this work showed that harvesting at the optimum time, pruning plants, and inducing moderate nutrient and drought stress during the flowering stage could be beneficial to enhance CBD yields while reducing resource input and increasing time, space, fertilizer, and water use efficiency. Overall, this thesis provided a broad dataset and findings that can support growers in investigating the effect of interventions on yield components, the effectiveness of agronomic management techniques like improved canopy and root zone management, and the effects of abiotic stresses on the overall optimization of cultivation systems. This thesis further expands on the critical questioning of the sustainability of indoor systems, highlighting major environmental issues of cultivation, such as the high amounts of energy and water utilization, waste generation, air pollution, and GHG emissions. This led to the reflection on alternative cultivation systems to supply the growing demand for medicinal cannabis in Germany. It is worth saying that indoor cultivation is possibly still the best system to provide medical – GACP/GMP pharmaceutical grade – cannabis due to the high level of environmental control, safety, and contamination protection. Nonetheless, there is still much to be improved in those systems, and future developments should aim either at (I) “high-tech” systems with efficient lights, soilless hydroponics or DWC under closed water and nutrient cycles, improved sensors and automation systems for less human interaction to avoid contamination and minimum energy and resources deployment. Future systems should possibly include the verticalization of cultivation areas and the use of AI to guarantee fewer variations in climate conditions and, therefore, higher standardization of inflorescences in production batches and/or (II) a shift towards “soil-sun grown” cannabis and protected environment production, especially using greenhouse and tunnels in outdoor conditions. As demonstrated, those systems have higher yield potential and improved sustainability of cultivation while using the sun as a primary energy source and the soil as the basis for cultivation. At the same time, regenerative practices would be the preferred form of soil fertility management, organic nutrient cycling, and crop nutrition. It is essential to note those systems' limitations in acquiring pharmaceutical-grade certification of medical inflorescences. However, inflorescences per se might not be the best medical product as the standardization of cannabinoid concentration in inflorescences is challenging and subject to natural variation. Nonetheless, “soil-sun grown” can be a primary significant cultivation system to produce medicinal cannabis – cannabis plants that can be used for medicinal purposes – as practiced for most medicinal plants and other crops of medicinal value (herbs, teas, essential oils). These systems can be scaled up more easily than indoor cultivation and can yield large harvests to provide inflorescences and biomass to extract cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids, etc., which can later be used to generate medical products. Observing the experience of other countries, it is expected that a tremendous demand for cannabis in Germany will not be medical pharmaceutical inflorescences from the pharmacy (as before the legalization) but rather medicinal/recreational inflorescences from individuals, cultivation clubs, and model projects. In summary, this thesis explores the dynamic field of cannabis cultivation driven by societal demands and recognizes the crucial role of adapting cultivation systems to market needs. As suggested in the discussion, categorizing medical and medicinal cannabis products is necessary to fit cultivation systems to meet consumer demand. Furthermore, the moment permits historical reparation and the insertion of marginalized groups in a transformative landscape of cannabis cultivation. If we want to pursue socially equitable cannabis, we cannot simply ignore what has been done to smallholder farmers in traditional cannabis-producing regions through the war on drugs. Enabling the import of cannabis inflorescences and extracts from regions under ecologically and socially sustainable cultivation practices with certification labels can be a milestone in promoting fairer agricultural trades, providing legal livelihood opportunities, and developing strong value chains, like other delicacies such as tea and spices, cocoa, and coffee. Thus, certified imports from traditional producers can be vital, given the global climate and energy crisis challenges.
Sustainable food packaging: An updated definition following a holistic approach
(2023) Dörnyei, Krisztina Rita; Uysal-Unalan, Ilke; Krauter, Victoria; Weinrich, Ramona; Incarnato, Loredana; Karlovits, Igor; Colelli, Giancarlo; Chrysochou, Polymeros; Fenech, Margaret Camilleri; Pettersen, Marit Kvalvåg; Arranz, Elena; Marcos, Begonya; Frigerio, Valeria; Apicella, Annalisa; Yildirim, Selçuk; Poças, Fátima; Dekker, Matthijs; Johanna, Lahti; Coma, Véronique; Corredig, Milena
Food packaging solutions need to be redesigned to be more sustainable, but determining which solution is ‘more optimal’ is a very difficult task when considering the entire food product value chain. Previous papers paved the way toward a sustainable food packaging definition, but it is far from being commonly accepted or well usable in the broad food systems domain, which further results in uninformed choices for sustainable food packaging made by all stakeholders in the value chain: producers, distributors, practitioners and consumers. Therefore, this work aims first at giving a state-of-the-art overview of sustainable food packaging terms (38 similar terms were identified and grouped into four clusters: Sustainable, Circular, Bio and Other sustainable packaging) and definitions using systematic (narrative) review analysis and ‘controlled expert opinion feedback’ methodology. Second, it aims to offer an updated definition for sustainable food packaging, which is also specific to food packaging and be simple, coherent, easily understandable, and communicable to everybody. The applied holistic approach intends to include all aspects of the food-packaging unit, to consider food safety and packaging functionality, while taking into account different disciplines and challenges related to food packaging along the supply chain. Being a balancing act, a sustainable food packaging may not be a perfect solution, but contextual, suboptimal and in need of constant validation.