Meat Institute partners with IICA to recognise critical role of animal protein
Nine animal agriculture-focused events were held at COP27
14 November 2022
2 minute read
By: The Interamerican Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) convened its first-ever "Sustainable Agriculture in the Americas" pavilion at the UN Climate Summit (COP27) and partnered with the Protein PACT and other stakeholders to convene a total of 9 events focused on animal agriculture's key role in sustainability solutions, according to a press release from the North American Meat Institute (NAMI).
The Protein PACT events included a November 9 panel on sustainable livestock across regions and production systems, National Pork Board Interim Vice President of Sustainability Ashley McDonald shared US pork's commitments to ethical principles, best practices, and documenting proof. The Pork Board and Pork Checkoff pioneered on-farm sustainability reports, which have been awarded $20 million in USDA Climate-Smart Commodities grant funding to expand measurement and implementation of climate-smart practices.
Meat Institute Chief Strategy Officer Eric Mittenthal moderated a November 10 panel featuring scientific evidence on the essential dietary contributions of animal-source foods and optimizing animal agriculture's environmental impact.
The Meat Institute's first-ever continuous improvement data report released last week found that among companies accounting for an estimated 90% of meat sold in the United States, 81% of reporting facilities are covered by company-wide commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Meat Institute aims for 100% of members to have delivered emissions reduction targets approved by the Science-Based Targets Initiative by 2030.
Speaking on the November 10 panel, Dr. Adegbola Adesogan, Director of the University of Florida Food Systems Institute commented:
"Most common measures of environmental impact ignore nutrient-density - the contribution of foods to achieving recommended intakes of critical nutrients. Sustainability solutions must ensure sustainable production of animal-source foods, which are 'brain foods' for the children our future depends on.
"Eating meat, dairy, and eggs improves children's cognition and growth, and raising animals for food provides livelihoods and is a cornerstone of many cultures, particularly in the Global South."
"The livestock sector is moving at full tilt towards sustainability in the Americas and around the world and continues to play a central and invaluable role in global food security," said Manual Otero, director general of IICA. "IICA and its member states will continue to champion at COP27 and future COPs the critical role of sustainable agriculture, including livestock production, in the Americas."
