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Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences

About SusCrop

Towards a climate-friendly and biodiversity-friendly production of plant-based proteins

The SusCrop research consortium aims to explore new routes to grow a wider variety of protein-rich crops in a climate-resilient and biodiversity-friendly way. The consortium focuses on making agriculture and horticulture circular again by developing and improving crops that can convert organic nitrogen into healthy and popular food with high protein content.

The SusCrop consortium has been initiated by Dr. Teun Munnik, head of the Plant Cell Biology at the Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences of the University of Amsterdam. It aims to provide a crucial contribution to addressing the negative planetary impact of the current food system of the Netherlands and other high-income countries. This system is far from circular and responsible for one-third of the global greenhouse gas emissions, almost two thirds of the biodiversity loss, and half of the nitrogen (N) surplus.

The nitrogen problem - click to enlarge the image. Livestock (cows, pigs, chickens) are fed with enormous amounts of feed crops that are grown with synthetic fertilizer. Most of these feed crops (soy, corn) are transported around the world in polluting tankers. In addition, the production of synthetic fertilizers is accompanied by enormous water waste, environmental pollution and CO2 emission. To produce one kg of animal protein, approximately six kg of plant protein is required. This all returns to our environment as organic nitrogen (N) in the form of meat, eggs and milk, but also in enormous amounts of manure! The accumulation of N in Europe amongst others leads to manure being a problem, rather than a useful resource.

SusCrop wants to make agriculture and horticulture circular again and enable sustainable farming methods that prioritize ecological balance. At the heart of this transition is the development of crops that can thrive on organic nitrogen sources, replacing current crops that have been optimized for inorganic nitrogen sources provided by artificial fertilizers. This can simultaneously address the current societal issues of the massive nitrogen surplus and the manure crisis. At the same time, SusCrop sets out to optimize the nitrogen content of the novel crops, aiming to substantially increase the share of plant-based proteins consumed in the Netherlands.

The SusCrop consortium joins biologists, ecologists, food scientists, psychologists and statistics experts from Dutch research universities and universities of applied sciences with farmers, industries and societal partners. Together, they aim to gain crucial insights in all aspects of the envisioned transition, from molecular mechanisms up to the entire food chain. In addition, they will focus on consumer acceptance and societal implementation to ensure maximal impact of their efforts.

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