Białko roślinne – źródła, koszty produkcji i jakość

Protein is one of the basic nutrients necessary to maintain life. Global forecasts show that protein will be the basic macro component limiting global food security. Vegetable protein dominates the global structure of protein consumption. The primary source of vegetable protein are cereals, and among them, wheat. The article assumes that the main source for the growing protein demand will remain its current sources, because the factors determining the use of a given raw material are its availability, cost and quality. Therefore, the article attempts to characterize the main sources of vegetable protein in terms of protein production per unit area, production costs of 1 kg protein and their quality. The analysis of production costs of individual protein sources was made on the basis of data from farms belonging to the countries (or groups of countries) of its main producers or exporters. The quality of the analyzed proteins was characterized using: Chemical Score (SC) and Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS). From among the protein sources which were analyzed, the highest yield per unit area and the lowest direct production costs are found in soy protein. This protein is also characterized by the highest biological value considering the value of PDCAAS.