Fruit and vegetable wastes are the largest components of global food loss and waste (FLW), leading to tremendous management, resource, and environmental burdens. The objective of this study is to find ways for effectively upcycling fruit waste via dairy cattle and to assess multiple sustainability benefits. Fresh citrus waste from a fruit processing center was incorporated into treatment diet (7.1 kg cow⁻¹ day⁻¹), fed to 160 cows for 24 days at a research dairy facility, in comparison with control diet. Additionally, at a commercial dairy farm, fresh citrus waste was co-ensiled with grass hay to prevent spoilage and preserve the feeding value, the resulting silage subsequently incorporated into diet and fed to lactating cows. Both feeding trials supported cow productivity and lowered feed cost. Sustainability implications were quantitatively assessed, including GHG emission mitigation and the sparing of land, water, fertilizer and herbicide uses due to substitution of conventional feed ingredients.

水果和蔬菜废物是全球粮食损失和浪费 (FLW) 的最大组成部分，导致巨大的管理、资源和环境负担。本研究的目的是找到通过奶牛有效升级回收水果废物的方法，并评估多种可持续性效益。与对照饮食相比，来自水果加工中心的新鲜柑橘废物被纳入治疗饮食（7.1 kg 牛^-1天^-1），在研究乳制品设施中喂养 160 头奶牛 24 天。此外，在一个商业奶牛场，新鲜柑橘废物与干草共同青贮，以防止腐败并保持饲用价值，所得青贮饲料随后纳入日粮中并饲喂泌乳牛。两项饲喂试验都提高了奶牛的生产力并降低了饲料成本。对可持续性影响进行了定量评估，包括温室气体排放减少以及由于替代传统饲料成分而节省土地、水、肥料和除草剂的使用。