IFEEDER Fodder

The animal food industry has an opportunity to support our customers with their environmental goals.  Input from 11 U.S. and Canadian organizations representing those customers helped the Institute for Feed Education and Research (IFEEDER) identify metrics of interest relative to greenhouse gas emissions, water quality, water quantity and land and marine resource use. Collectively, those metrics provide insights into an aim to reduce their environmental footprint (learn more about those metrics in my previous blog).  

In my professional role at the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA), I am fortunate to have a wide variety of roles and responsibilities. Some are rooted in regulations and compliance, and some are closer to the farm gate. My heart will always lie with the latter. Perhaps working with AFIA’s Liquid Feed Committee best allows me to combine my formal education, scientific research and my passion for animal agriculture. It is through the Kenny Berg Liquid Feed Research and Education Fund, managed by the Institute for Feed Education and Research, that I’ve seen many valuable research projects come to life.  

Energy, including fuel, electricity, heating, cooling and steam generation, is a significant cost for the feed industry. Several members of the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) have been working to reduce energy costs by switching to more efficient equipment, developing more efficient processes and investing in renewable energy generation.  

It is one thing to consider our own animal food industry’s sustainability efforts, but it is equally important to consider the needs of our customers. We, being members of the feed and pet food industry, are an upstream source within their supply chain, but we may be well positioned to help them meet their identified goals and targets. 

Earlier in my career, as a contractor, I attended a transportation company meeting. Agenda item one was to participate in a safety briefing, where we learned where the exits were, any hazards we could encounter and what to do in an emergency. This impressed upon me that this company’s culture prioritized safety for its customers and workers. 

We all seek to be good stewards and know firsthand that agriculture is inextricably tied to stewardship. We live that on a daily basis. However, considering the high stakes we face on sustainability, including evolving consumer demands and government regulation, all American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) members should lean on the Institute for Feed Education and Research (IFEEDER) as a partner and resource, regardless of where we are at on our sustainability journeys.

This year, the Institute for Feed Education and Research (IFEEDER) initiated work on a project to update its pet food and feed ingredient consumption reports. The goal is to provide transparent data, quantifying the numerous ingredients used to feed livestock, poultry, fish and pets in the United States. These reports serve as some of the best reference materials available for those discussing matters impacting the U.S. animal food value chain. IFEEDER is the only public charity investing in this kind of research to inform decisions in the animal food industry.

Sure, greenhouse gas emission reductions often get the limelight when it comes to corporate sustainability programs, but sustainability goes much broader than climate change. Consider the issues that matter most to them, i.e., conducting a “materiality assessment,” as a key step in deciding where the company should focus its sustainability efforts to make an impact. This concept can be confusing, so I break it down here and explain a new resource that the Institute for Feed Education and Research is launching to help companies understand it even better.