The Conference of Parties (COP) has been gathering for over 30 years to hold formal negotiations within the United Nations (U.N.) Framework Convention on Climate Change. Last year, I discussed COP27, and this year, I am preparing to head to Dubai with the American Feed Industry Association’s President and CEO Constance Cullman for COP28.   

When the world’s best minds get together, good things should happen. That’s exactly what took place this week at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) global forum for animal feed and feed regulators. The forum brought together over 200 feed regulators and feed industry representatives from around the world to discuss feed security, feed safety, animal production and environmental sustainability to ensure growth in livestock production and availability of animal proteins. The need for animal-based products is growing around the world and animal nutrition is an essential part of sustainable livestock production. 

In many cases, when members of the animal food industry recruit, they post and pray. We all know the drill: post the job description and pray that qualified applicants will apply. This strategy may have worked (at least, sometimes) a few years ago when we were in a different labor market, but it doesn’t work today. 

By: Emily Alvarez, communications intern

Social media has transformed communication, allowing people to go beyond geographical boundaries and connect with people from diverse backgrounds. It also serves as an educational tool that can allow for more insight and awareness by being able to engage with an intended audience. Agriculture suffers from many misinterpretations that have an alarming impact on farmers today, and social media can be used to debunk myths and educate the public about this industry.

My husband and I enjoy watching “Saturday Night Live,” and often, when we can watch it live on Saturday nights, we’re still chuckling about the jokes on Sunday mornings during church (oops!). When I saw that a newfound favorite comedian of mine, Nate Bargatze, and musical guest Foo Fighters, yet another favorite, were headlining Oct. 28, I had to tune in. Just minutes before the show ended, SNL aired a spoof about eating dog food, which moved me to belly laughs. 

The first week of October was very exciting for the American Feed Industry Association’s global affairs team. Gina Tumbarello, Mallory Gaines and I went to Vietnam to host AFIA’s first in-country program. Our Vietnam programs are made possible by AFIA’s cooperator status with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) and the funding awarded through the FAS’s Market Access Program (MAP).

When it comes to sustainability, the American Feed Industry Association has wrestled in recent years with where its policy team should focus efforts, particularly as it engages in diverse dialogues both nationally and on the international stage. This summer, the AFIA Sustainability Committee reviewed and approved focus areas for the association, and last week, the AFIA Board of Directors reviewed and supported the plan.  

Contributing writer: Emily Alvarez, fall communications intern.

Astronauts are faced with many challenges when going into space and spending ample time preparing mentally and physically, but there is always the risk of not having the resources they need or finding themselves in unplanned situations. APC, one of the American Feed Industry Association’s members, was recently asked to provide support for a group of students seeking to understand if dried plasma has applications to support astronaut health care in space.