Food Waste Finds New Value as Livestock Feed

Thursday, August 27, 2026

Feeding by-products & waste products can improve land-use efficiency.

By Emily McKinlay

Food waste (retail and consumer discards), food loss (production and processing losses), and other by-products have been garnering attention as an opportunity for nutrient circularity and environmental sustainability in the livestock industry.

“I think that the cattle sector has been very resourceful and has seen the benefits of the use of by-products and food loss,” says Dr. Kim Ominski, professor and head of the Department of Animal Science at the University of Manitoba.

“If these products don’t go to livestock, they often go to a landfill.”

Dr. Tim McAllister, principal research scientist at the Lethbridge Research and Development Centre of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, adds that beyond avoiding a landfill, utilizing by-products as a feed source often adds value to the products. Some of these upcycled feeds include field losses from crops, distillers’ grains, or food waste from bakeries and grocery stores.

“This is an area that has been getting more attention. Some of this material is going into landfills, so part of the objective is to get as much value as possible out of by-products, and one way to enhance that is as livestock feed,” says McAllister.

“Ruminants can digest a wide array of feed sources, and the rumen has the ability to break down a certain degree of toxins compared to poultry or swine. That is a big advantage of ruminants, but you still have to pay attention to nutrient requirements.”

Feeding by-products and food losses is an opportunity for producers to access new feed sources while diverting these products from landfills, but it is still important to balance these benefits with the logistics of sourcing, quality, and storage.

Reducing waste & providing nutrients

By-products and food waste have been recognized for the nutrients they can contribute to ruminant diets, while also diverting waste from landfills, where they would contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.

Amie Peck, executive director of the Canadian Cattle Association’s Public and Stakeholder Engagement team, says that feeding by-products brings economic value to beef producers.

“One of the large benefits is the economics of feeding waste products. They are high-value but cost-effective ingredients in the ration, and we see that a lot in the feedlot stage,” says Peck.

“Some by-products are high-quality ingredients that can comprise a significant portion of the feedlot diet at a reduced cost, and that helps keep beef prices as accessible as possible for the consumer.”

Kendyl Anderson and her husband Ed feed by-products and food waste to nearly all the animals on their birth-to-beef operation in Mooretown, Ont.

On their operation, feeding by-products helps them to extend their hay supply and adds additional nutrients to lower-quality forage. It is also an opportunity to prioritize sustainability on their farm and for their beef customers.

“I really am passionate about sustainability. As direct-to-consumer producers, our customers really like the idea of our farm playing a role in reducing landfill waste,” says Anderson.

“On the animal health side, the by-products are beneficial for our animals and contain good nutrients. Our nutritionist helps us figure out all the rations to make sure we have the right macronutrients.”

To quantify the sustainability impact of feeding by-products or field losses, McAllister and Ominski have used computer modelling to estimate reductions in greenhouse gas production and improved land use.

The initial project modelled the benefits of feeding cull potatoes.

“Potatoes are a good source of nutrients. They are high in starch and protein. Potato production in Western Canada has expanded a lot in the past few years so there is a good supply of them as a by-product,” says McAllister.

“This study was done as a collaboration between Drs. Kim Ominski, G. Mengistu, and a host of team members. We looked at substituting potatoes for a certain amount of existing grain in feedlot cattle diets. We did our modelling based on a literature review, so we didn’t feed potatoes in the actual study. We modelled based on diet composition and determined the implications on animal growth and the environment when those potatoes don’t enter a landfill.”

The study found that feeding cull potatoes reduced the land required for feed production and reduced the greenhouse gas emissions associated with cull potatoes in landfills.

“It really emphasized the value of using by-products like that in cattle diets, in terms of reducing carbon footprint and value adding or upcycling waste,” says McAllister.

Ominski says that feeding by-products, food waste, or loss works toward the goals of sustainability and a circular bioeconomy. Her research team has also performed similar studies evaluating the use of bread waste as part of cattle diets.

“Many grocery stores have bread waste. It’s a universal ingredient with a longer shelf life than other higher-moisture foodstuffs,” says Ominski.

This study also utilized modelling technology to estimate the environmental impacts of feeding bread waste, in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, land use, water use, and ammonia production. The study found that all metrics were reduced by feeding bread by-products and diverting the waste from landfills.

“As farmers bear the impacts of climate change and see more frequent floods, drought, and extreme weather, producers will be looking for alternative low-cost feed sources when traditional feedstuffs are less available,” says Ominski.

Consumers are also interested in the environmental implications of cattle diets. Peck says that in a consumer focus group study conducted by the Canadian Cattle Association in 2021, the team found positive associations with feeding by-products.

“Some producers we talked to were concerned that when feeding waste products, there might be an implication that we are feeding garbage, and we don’t want that,” says Peck.

“We found there was a lot of support for seeing cattle eating food waste and having it called food waste. Consumers saw the sustainability benefits of the products not going to a landfill and being upcycled into something humans can eat.”

Peck notes that there was some hesitancy among consumers regarding the feeding of bakery waste.

“The average Canadian doesn’t understand nutritionally what a beef animal needs. There was more support for feeding fruit and vegetables, but maybe not as much for some products like bakery waste,” says Peck.

“When we tell the story, we try to focus on fruits and vegetables, potatoes, and brewery waste. We know it’s a fun story of beer and French fries becoming beef. We recognize that people want to see some of these fresh products in beef diets.”

Availability, quality & consistency

By-products, food waste, and loss offer many environmental benefits as feed ingredients, but they must also be practical to incorporate into farm management.

Finding products with consistent availability and quality, that are also nutritionally suitable and work with the farm’s storage options, are a few of the important considerations for producers exploring feeding food waste and losses.

“There are challenges with scale and supply chain,” says McAllister.

Anderson says that storage space and trucking costs are some of the primary challenges they encounter with feeding by-products.

“The big one for us is storage. We have the space and feed bunks, but feeding it before it spoils can be an issue. With vegetable waste, when we get in truckloads, we have to feed them quickly,” says Anderson.

“Our brewer’s grains come in a big bag, which can be an inconvenience, but it keeps them fresh longer. It can be expensive with the cost of trucking, especially bringing products in frequently to avoid spoilage. Availability is also challenging. There have been times when we were out of bakery waste or brewer’s grains, but they were not available.”

Many sources of food waste produce small quantities of by-products, and the supply might be seasonal. If larger quantities are available, high moisture concentrations in the waste products can complicate storage.

This is the next focus of Ominski’s research.

“Because of the high moisture content, food waste and loss can spoil quickly. They require prompt feeding or ensiling,” says Ominski.

“Our initial work was in ensiling an array of products from grocery stores, and, more specifically, we are now looking at targeted ensiling. We’ll first look at this at a smaller scale in miniature silos with small treatments of different foodstuffs. When we gain more knowledge, we will move up to larger-scale ensiling and observe differences in animal performance.

“First, we need to understand the ensiling process and compare it to other ingredients like corn silage, and the next step is to move that knowledge into a feeding system. We are studying the fermentation process and aerobic stability, and then we will study how animals respond from an intake and growth perspective.”

As research and the demand for nutrient circularity bring by-products and waste products to the forefront as feed ingredients, Anderson recommends that producers review potential local sources and their capacity to handle feeding by-products.

“We really like it, but it has to fit with your system, and you have to have proper feeding equipment,” says Anderson.

“Maybe start on a smaller scale first. We started by working with local breweries and didn’t jump right in and start ordering truckloads. We integrated products in here and there and liked how the cattle were doing. Research the required storage and the types of by-products near you and their availability.”

Ominski believes that food waste and losses will continue to grow as feed options for cattle.

“As we move forward and climate change continues, it will be increasingly important to have feedstuffs to access in times of drought. These products are at least as environmentally feasible as traditional ingredients because of the land sparing effect and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.” BF