IFEEDER Fodder
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- December 8, 2022
- Calling All Partners, The Time to Engage Is Now
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The Institute for Feed Education and Research is making progress on several of its sustainability initiatives. We are wrapping up phase one of the Sustainability Road Map project and will be releasing a sustainability toolkit for feed industry members in January during the International Production and Processing Expo. Another project, the Feed Systems Sustainability Summit, held in September, was a great success and the takeaways are informing actions for the industry and its stakeholders. During the November Sustainable Agriculture Summit (SAS), over 800 representatives from the food value chain gathered, networked and made plans to advance sustainability efforts up and down the supply chain. All of these initiatives are informing IFEEDER’s actions to support feed systems sustainability, and our next steps are taking shape as we prepare to shift to phase two of our efforts.
- By Lara Moody
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- September 22, 2022
- Lessons for Feed from Animal Agriculture's Sustainability Journey
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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.
- By Lara Moody
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- August 30, 2022
- 3 Things to Know About Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) for your Products or Production System
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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.
- By Lara Moody
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- December 6, 2021
- Valuing Circularity in Sustainable Food Systems
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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.
- By Lara Moody
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- November 4, 2021
- Can Consumer Perspectives Impact Sustainability Actions?
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The short answer to my question is: yes! In “Part 1 – Defining Sustainability” of the Institute for Feed Education and Research’s (IFEEDER) webinar series, Kim Stackhouse-Lawson, Ph.D., director of AgNext at Colorado State University, shared an important idea for agricultural sustainability efforts, which is that sustainability is driven by both science and emotion. The recent Journal of Dairy Science article “Sustainability: Different Perspectives, Inherent Conflict” offers insights on consumer perspectives that further confound sustainability discussions.
- By Lara Moody