IFEEDER Fodder

Our peers in animal agriculture, that is the farmers and ranchers who produce meat, milk and eggs every day for Americans to eat, must think holistically about the sustainability of their production systems. Beyond their downstream customers’ sustainability reporting desires, they are responsible to the communities surrounding their farms, regulatory agencies monitoring environmental impact and consuming public’s perceptions.  

There is a growing interest for animal food companies to better understand the impacts of their operations and supply chains to identify market opportunities and meet expectations of downstream stakeholders. Utilizing life cycle assessment (LCA) tools are a great way to assess the footprint of operations and existing product lines. They can also be used to innovate and seize on growing demand for sustainable products in the marketplace.

Most of the environmental impact for animal protein is embedded in the feed that animals eat. By reducing feed impacts, food companies have an opportunity to make significant progress toward climate and sustainability goals.

In recent years, an increasing number of foods are being marketed and labeled as free of genetically modified (GM) ingredients. For milk, meat or eggs, this means the animals these foods come from are fed exclusively non-GM feed. You need to look no further than current headlines to see the attention given to rising food prices, the need to curb greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and other sustainability elements.  

Attention to our own health and the health of our planet has given rise to an array of diet recommendations that have advice for optimizing both. Relative to the planet, advocates for reduced meat diets point to the environmental impacts attributed to animal production as a key issue, whereas advocates for meat as a good protein source point to the beneficial role that animal production plays in better soil health and conservation agriculture. Like many concepts, the truth is unclear, understanding the issues around diets and agriculture is complex and many options may be viable, depending on your goals.

Consumers today want to see that our food choices have a positive impact on our health, communities and the environment around us. We at the North American Meat Institute (NAMI) believe that eating meat is not only compatible with that goal, it is integral to achieving it - we cannot achieve the sustainable, healthy future people need without meat.

A circular economy seeks to design out waste and pollution, keep products and materials in use and regenerate natural systems. Waste reduction and food loss recovery via the utilization of coproducts and by-products has long been a component of the animal feed and pet food supply chain. As the animal food industry considers its role in climate neutrality and other sustainability outcomes, we must also advance our ability to measure and assess existing processes as well as new technologies.