Part 2 of a three-part series

SIDNEY -- The human body relies on protein, amino acids, meat consumption is an obvious source of protein, as are various plants, and more recent to consumers options: insect products.

Varied sources of protein is being encouraged as agriculture continues to change. 

Deeona Johnston, MA, RDN, LMNT, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist at Sidney Regional Medical Center, said one of the concerns is the expanding population is encroaching on farm land. The concern is maintaining a consistent food source as the need for population centers increases, impacting farm land. Johnston has the experience of growing up around livestock, and as a licensed dietician. She added a lack of information, or misinformation, leads to fears of agricultural procedures.

"There's lots of people who are against ... they don't have the information, so they're very much against GMOs and different selective breeding techniques. They think that we're now changing everything about our food, where as, to a point, but also, a lot of it is natural. They're just trying to make it so, yes, some of the animals are bigger than  they were 50 years ago. But also, we selectively bred for those, like it's a natural process," she said.

Johnston said protein content per calorie, meat is the best choice for a person's diet. She said everything dietitians are taught in school is 10 to 35 percent of daily calorie intake should be proteins -- 50 to 100 grams. 

"Truthfully, with how our digestive system is, for the smallest amount, you do get more out of eating an animal product. It's easier for our bodies to digest it. There's a lot of plants out there that do have quite a bit of protein in it, like beans, nuts, seeds, even soy products. They have a lot of good protein in them, and they can actually be higher than some animal products, but we don't always have, like it's harder for our bodies to digest it. Some of the enzymes that the plants have that are naturally occurring stop our digestive enzymes, so we can't digest as much out of it," she said. 

A recent addition to diet consideration is insects. For example, Tyson Foods recently contracted for an insect additive. However, the company's media release says the partnership with Protix is for a pet and animal food additive. Johnston said there are insects that are rich in protein, but more would need consumed to reach the same amount of protein as an animal product.