Sustainable Livestock Farming with Oil Seed Crops and Their By-Products

Abstract

The increasing human population and food shortage have driven the need for alternative feed resources for animals that are not intended for human consumption. Oil seeds and its derivatives are suitable options to meet the escalating global demand for animal feed proteins. Soybean, rapeseed, canola, sunflower, cottonseed, groundnut, linseed, chia, palm kernel, hempseed are noteworthy oilseeds and camelina is one of them. Camelina sativa (CS), an ancient oilseed crop belonging to the Brassicaceae family, is known for its resistance to drought and cold, as well as its various uses for meal, oil, and other products. However, it also has some anti-nutritional factors (ANF) that can limit its use as animal feed. These ANF can be reduced by various methods such as enzyme addition, heat treatment, fermentation, or genetic engineering. CS and its by-products can affect animal metabolism, especially lipid metabolism and hormone level and can also improve the fat profile of meat and milk products, making them more suitable for human consumption and health. CS and its by-products had weight gain outcomes and protected dietary PUFAs, but decreased bio-hydrogenation intermediates. Meat from small ruminants fed CS-supplemented diets had a suitable fat profile for human consumption. Feeding with CS seeds and derivatives decreased milk fat concentration, yield, and fat-corrected milk. Camelina forage, however, increased milk fat percentage. Results on CS and its by-products' effect on milk fatty acid composition were conflicting. CS meals may improve milk product composition, making them healthier for humans. More research is needed to determine how CS meals can be used in dairy ewe and goat diets at different life stages.