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Reply to: Estimating low-opportunity-cost feed

Nature Food volume 6, pages 137–138 (2025)Cite this article

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The Original Article was published on 10 February 2025

replying to Y. Gong and Y. Yang Nature Food https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-025-01116-z (2025)

We are pleased that Gong and Yang1 consider our work2 an important contribution for alleviating the multiple environmental stresses caused by the global expansion of animal production and its associated increased demand for animal feed3,4,5. Our study2 revealed that the pressures on land use and the environment can be reduced by about one-third in China when partially replacing commercial feed with low-opportunity-cost feeds (LCFs) in animal production. However, Gong and Yang1 comment that this result may be overestimated because of the use of simple methods, overestimation of the use of food waste and fish meal as animal feed, use of relatively low feed conversion ratios (FCRs) and other possible alternatives for using LCFs. Here we reply to the criticisms and underscore the validity of our estimates.

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, National Academy of Agriculture Green Development, Key Laboratory of Plant–Soil Interactions, Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Nutrient Use and Management, China Agricultural University, Beijing, PR China

    Qunchao Fang, Oene Oenema, Hongliang Wang & Yong Hou

  2. Wageningen Environmental Research, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands

    Oene Oenema

  3. Farming Systems Ecology group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands

    Hannah H. E. van Zanten

Authors
  1. Qunchao Fang
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  2. Oene Oenema
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  3. Hannah H. E. van Zanten
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  4. Hongliang Wang
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  5. Yong Hou
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Contributions

Q.F. drafted the article. All authors reviewed the draft and provided critical feedback and edits.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yong Hou.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Nature Food thanks Marica Areniello, Ling Zhang and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Fang, Q., Oenema, O., van Zanten, H.H.E. et al. Reply to: Estimating low-opportunity-cost feed. Nat Food 6, 137–138 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-025-01117-y

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