Human food security requires the production of sufficient quantities of both high-quality protein and dietary energy. In a series of case-studies from New Zealand, researchers show that while production of food ingredients from crops on arable land can meet human dietary energy requirements effectively, requirements for high-quality protein are met more efficiently by animal production from such land. The authors also provide a model that can be used to assess dietary energy and quality-corrected protein production from various crop and crop/animal production systems.
Human food security requires the production of sufficient quantities of both high-quality protein and dietary energy. In a series of case-studies from New Zealand, researchers show that while production of food ingredients from crops on arable land can meet human dietary energy requirements effectively, requirements for high-quality protein are met more efficiently by animal production from such land. The authors also provide a model that can be used to assess dietary energy and quality-corrected protein production from various crop and crop/animal production systems.