Animal digestion and nutrition

Animal agriculture produces high-quality protein in the form of dairy, meat, poultry, fish, and eggs, but much of that protein started as soy. In fact, global animal agriculture is the number one customer for U.S. soybeans.

Animals like chickens, pigs, turkeys, cattle and fish rely on nutrient-dense soybean meal to thrive. They need high levels of quality protein and digestible energy to grow, all found in soybean meal.

According to a study funded by the soy checkoff, the soybean meal fed in the U.S. goes to several segments of animal agriculture.

• Poultry eats about 64 percent.¹
• Pigs consume nearly 24 percent.¹
• Beef and dairy cattle use just over 10 percent.¹
• The rest goes to aquatic farming like fish and shrimp, other farm animals, and companion animals like horses and pets.¹

This unit helps explain the different types of digestive systems in animals and where protein from soybeans, carbohydrates from corn, and fats from both are digested. Other grains are also used in feeding animals, but not to as large an extent. To read more about the uses of soybeans, see the article “What Are Soybeans Used For?”

To learn more about animal nutrition, see the Animal nutrition e-learning course.