Pig Circular Economy and Food Waste Feeding

Feeding food waste and by-products to pigs offers significant welfare, environmental, and economic benefits but requires careful disease control regulation.

Key Facts

Pigs evolved as omnivores and thrive on diverse diets including food waste and by-products
Food waste feeding to pigs is common in Asia and parts of Europe with appropriate heat treatment
In the EU and UK, feeding catering waste (swill) to pigs is banned due to disease risks since 2001 FMD outbreak
Regulated food waste feeding (biosecure, heat-treated) dramatically reduces feed costs and environmental impact
Pigs fed diverse diets show better welfare indicators than those on uniform commercial feed
Re-legalization with appropriate biosecurity measures is advocated by many sustainability researchers

Welfare Considerations

Uniform commercial diets lack the dietary variety that pigs naturally seek. Food waste feeding, when properly regulated and heat-treated, provides enrichment through dietary diversity while reducing environmental footprint. The welfare and sustainability case for regulated food waste feeding is strong. Policy reform to allow biosecure food waste feeding could improve pig welfare at scale while addressing food system sustainability.

What You Can Do

Support policy research into safe regulated food waste feeding programs for pigs
Reduce household food waste - what doesn't become pig feed contributes to emissions
Engage with food system discussions that include circular economy livestock models
Buy pork from farms using approved food industry by-products in pig feed
Support sustainable food system organizations advocating science-based swill feeding reform
Share research on the welfare and environmental benefits of diverse pig diets