University of Bristol    Bristol Veterinary School

Supervisor: Dr Daniel Enriquez-Hidalgo

Last Date: Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

About the Project

About the project

Background:

Food waste impacts food security and climate change, two top priorities to attain sustainability goals. WRAP estimates that every year 6.4 million tonnes of food are wasted in the UK, generating 18 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent or 5% of national greenhouse gas emissions (GHGe). Food waste, or unused surplus, is hard to estimate as it can occur at all stages of the supply chain, but WRAP estimates that 15% is wasted on-farm. WRAP estimates that 74 mega tonnes of apples are wasted in the UK every year. At the same time, livestock methane emissions generate a large share of on-farm externalities, producing 5.6% of the UK GHGe (AHDB). Interestingly, apple pomace has high nutritional value for livestock and some studies have identified them having anti-methanogenic properties, which could be related to apple varieties. Apples are one of the UKs oldest crops, with countless varieties as well as holding significant cultural they are currently underutilised as a product and by-product. Therefore, there is great potential for livestock to utilize apple pomace and by-products which is currently food wasted and potentially even to mitigate on-farm GHGe from methane. However, livestock farmers may have different attitudes and constraints to uptake the apple pomace as a feed source (e.g. seasonality, unstable nutritional quality, transport etc). The integration of the apple supply chain through circularity may provide some societal benefits, but likely will have an associated cost.

Aims and objectives:

This project aims to investigate potential synergies (circularity) between food waste and GHGe and to assess aspects related to the improvement of the apple supply chain circularity. Its main objectives are: 1) assess the potential of pomace from different apple varieties to mitigate methane emissions of ruminants in vitro; 2) explore livestock farmers’ attitudes and constrains towards the apple pomace usage as a feed source; 3) identify citizens’ willingness-to-pay to promote circularity practices between apple and livestock farmers.

Methods:

This PhD project will be part of the EPSRC project: Co-creating equitable circular food systems through a digital Hub: Digital Equitable CIrcular FooD systEms (DECIDE) framework. In this PhD project, we will collect apple pomace samples from different varieties used on Southwest farms of the UK and will use in vitro fermentation techniques to estimate their potential as livestock feed source and to reduce methane emissions. We will carry out interviews with livestock farmers to understand their attitudes and constrains towards the apple pomace usage on their farms. Similarly, a survey with citizens will be carry out to assess their acceptance and willingness-to-pay to promote circularity between apple and livestock farmers.

We are a multidisciplinary supervisory team working in sustainable livestock production (Enriquez-Hidalgo, BVS), agricultural economics and rural development (Bruns, BVS), agrifood supply chain (McCarthy, Business School) and bacteriology and mycology (Cogan, BVS). The multidisciplinary nature of the team allows flexibility in the specificity of the research to be conducted according to the candidate’s background, and resources availability. This studentship is ideal for candidates with an interest in animal or agricultural science, rural development or agricultural economics. We will provide tailored training to help their success.

Key references:

https://ahdb.org.uk/knowledge-library/greenhouse-gas-emissions-agriculture

https://www.wrap.ngo/resources/report/household-food-and-drink-waste-united-kingdom-2021-22

Supervisors:

Dr. Daniel Enriquez-Hidalgo (BVS), Dr Selina Bruns (BVS), Dr Lucy McCarthy (Business School) and Dr. Tristan Cogan (BVS)

 How to apply:

Please visit the Bristol Veterinary School website Funded 4-year PhD Scholarship | Bristol Veterinary School | University of Bristol for details of how to apply and the information you must include in your application. If your application is shortlisted, you will be invited to interview on or before 17th January. Interviews will take place on Microsoft Teams on 29th January. Start date Sept 2025.

Candidate requirements: Standard University of Bristol eligibility rules apply. Please visit PhD Veterinary Sciences | Study at Bristol | University of Bristol for more information.

Contacts: please contact fohs-pgadmissions@bristol.ac.uk with any queries about your application. Please contact the project supervisor for project-related queries: daniel.enriquez@bristol.ac.uk

Funding Notes

The studentship is available to UK and International applicants. This studentship is for a four-year PhD, funded through a University of Bristol “Bristol Veterinary School” scholarship. It consists of a waiver of tuition fees, as well as a tax-free stipend matching UK Research Council National Minimum (£19,237 p.a. for 2024/25, updated each year)