Reducing the Environmental Footprint of Animals Through Feed
With today’s focus on climate and greenhouse gas emissions and a likely future focus on water scarcity, the animal food industry needs to better understand and communicate the environmental benefits of animal food ration development, ingredients and additives that are being advanced by industry members. Research regarding the benefit, efficacy, cost and on-farm value of those innovations is a significant component of their development, but considerations for the innovation’s impact on sustainability may not be. Quantifying the impact of animal food innovation impacts on the environmental footprint of animals and pets would help the industry communicate to stakeholders and place greater value on the industry’s role as a sustainability solution.
Additionally, measuring the environmental footprint of feed throughout its life cycle and providing requested support from our animal agriculture and pet customers requires agreed upon metrics, reliable methods of data capture and committed partners. Unfortunately, consistency in the quality and quantity of feed data does not currently exist, but steps are being taken to drive progress forward.
Through the Institute for Feed Education and Research’s multiyear Sustainability Road Map project, IFEEDER is working with over 20 domestic and international animal food companies and associations to fill current data and information gaps, making it possible for business leaders to better measure how their sustainability efforts are making a difference for our planet.
About the Study:
Full project details can be found here. Below are highlights of some of the research currently underway:
- Advancing the ways industry is capturing quality, quantifiable data for measurement, reporting and verification across several key indicators and metrics.
- Advancing a quantification methodology and evaluating the environmental footprint improvement ration innovation can have on pets and animal agriculture.
Results:
The Sustainability Road Map is the first step in IFEEDER’s long-term vision of bringing needed sustainability resources and tools to the animal feed and pet food industry. IFEEDER released version 1.0 of its Animal Food Industry Sustainability Toolkit in January 2023 and expects to release version 2.0 version by February 2024.
Partner with Us on the Sustainability Road Map Project!
IFEEDER is looking for business leaders like YOU to pull up a seat at the table and inform research that will guide the future sustainability efforts of the animal feed and pet food industry.
