Search Results

Every year, the agricultural community comes together on National Ag Day to celebrate those who work tirelessly to keep our food supply stable and Americans fed. As a sponsor of this event, the American Feed Industry Association works to educate consumers about how the feed industry is working with farmers and ranchers to improve nutrition for their herds and flocks and reduce animal agriculture’s environmental footprint.

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.

You see it all the time – claims that meat consumption is drastically dropping in favor of alternatives – but one expert said, it’s just not true.

“Air pollution from farms leads to 17,900 deaths per year, study finds.” It’s a catchy newspaper title reminiscent of a study from 2019 noting, “Corn pollution kills thousands of Americans a year, study finds.” These headlines surely grab your attention, but they don’t necessarily advance your understanding of the industry. Studies of this nature require models, models require a lot of assumptions, and model output and findings are only as good as the input.

Last week, the Animal Agriculture Alliance brought together over 100 individuals representing a cross section of the U.S. food and agriculture industry to openly discuss the diverse challenges that are preventing affordable, animal-sourced foods from reaching those who need it most. What participants said was astounding – that many of the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as ending global hunger or reducing our environmental impact, are within reach with the game-changing, sustainable solutions already in the pipeline. 

Good research should tell a story. At the Institute for Feed Education and Research, we have a new story to tell. Our newly released Animal Feed Consumption and COVID-19 Impact Analysis tells the story of a vibrant animal food manufacturing industry that allows domestic livestock and pets to consume nearly 284 million tons of safe, high quality and nutritious food annually. It also tells a story of the dedication of over 944,000 people who make the industry tick.

The United Nations is known for holding large meetings and frequently, we don’t feel the impact of what they do – but its latest Food Systems Summit is not one of those times.

“What would you do if you weren’t afraid?”

Elizabeth Hernandez, of Corteva Agriscience, posed this question to a global audience of mostly women at the recent Women in Food and Agriculture Digital Festival. She shared a captivating story of how a sign bearing this question at Facebook, where she previously worked, changed the way she thought about risk in the workplace. Others believed in her more than she did herself, which pushed her to take chances, some of which failed, but ultimately, propelled her to become a leader in the field.