Report Highlights Animal Agriculture’s Commitment to Continuous Improvement
Yesterday, the Animal Agriculture Alliance released its “Sustainability Impact Report” focusing on animal agriculture in the United States. The report highlights how the animal agriculture industry shares the same values as today’s consumer with its never-ending commitment to animal care, environmental stewardship, responsible antibiotic use, food safety and nutrition. To access the report, go to https://www.animalagalliance.org/engage/#sustainability.
The 33-page report covers nine industries: dairy, beef, veal, pork, chicken, turkey, egg, sheep and aquaculture. “Animal agriculture has made great strides in environmental stewardship, animal welfare and overall sustainability over the years,” said Kay Johnson Smith, Alliance president and CEO. “As new technology and research become available, the industry will continue to innovate and improve.”
Environmental stewardship highlights:
Animal welfare highlights:
Nutrition highlights:
About the Alliance:
The Animal Agriculture Alliance is an industry-united, nonprofit organization that helps bridge the communication gap between farm and fork. We connect key food industry stakeholders to arm them with responses to emerging issues. We engage food chain influencers and promote consumer choice by helping them better understand modern animal agriculture. We protect by exposing those who threaten our nation’s food security with damaging misinformation. Find the Alliance on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
There were some successes, but a lot of disappointments in California’s 2018 elections. So where do we go from here? What’s a farmer to do in an askew state like California? Check out this brief interview with Emily Rooney, President of the Ag Council of California as she shares her insights from the election and some considerations moving forward.
California farmers continue to face disappointment after disappointment with economic and regulatory issues, but now is not the time to bury your head in the sand. The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) is coming into fruition, and farmers need to not only be aware of how this will impact them, but getting involved in their local water agencies will be critical as plans are solidified. Geoff Vanden Heuvel from the Milk Producers Council addressed this at the recent California Dairy Sustainability Summit in Sacramento. Watch this brief video with Geoff and read more about it in California Dairy Magazine.
The inaugural California Dairy Sustainability Summit in Sacramento last month was a big hit. Conference presentations not only focused on what California dairy producers can do to increase their sustainability efforts, but also on how producers can better share their stories and correct some of the common misconceptions that have been circulating the public. Check out this video with Frank Mitloehner, Air Quality Specialist from the Department of Animal Science at UC Davis, who shared the facts, and read more about it in California Dairy Magazine. Don’t currently receive the magazine? Subscribe FREE today at https://malcolmmedia.com/california-dairy-magazine-subscriptions/
Could seaweed be the saving grace California dairy producers need to meet the State’s demands in reducing methane emissions from dairy cattle 40% by 2030? Not necessarily, but check out this brief interview with Ermias Kebreab from the Department of Animal Science at UC Davis who provided an update at the inaugural California Dairy Sustainability Summit on their research that has proven a seaweed supplemented diet to reduce cow emissions. Watch the video and read more about it in California Dairy Magazine. Don’t currently receive the magazine? Subscribe FREE today at https://malcolmmedia.com/california-dairy-magazine-subscriptions/
A report issued last week by a consortium of environmental groups on antibiotics in the meat supply chain highlights the importance of work being undertaken by California Department of Food and Agriculture as the first state in the nation to regulate the use of antibiotics in livestock. The report touched on CDFA’s efforts but it is important to clearly state what is being done to implement the legislation in collaboration with sister agencies and a broad, diverse set of stakeholders.
As of January 1st, 2018, California became the first state in the nation to require veterinary oversight for the use of all medically important antibiotics used in livestock (not just in feed or water). The state law also prohibits growth promotion use and goes above and beyond the federal requirements to prohibit the use of medically important antibiotics in a regular pattern for disease prevention unless necessary for surgical or medical procedures. This is currently the only legislation that requires data collection from willing participants to monitor antibiotic use practices, assess trends in antibiotic resistance, and to inform the development of antimicrobial stewardship guidelines and best management practices to effect change in antibiotic usage.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture has hired experienced and qualified staff to work with multiple state and federal partners, as well as university researchers, to collect information across California’s diverse livestock production types, coordinating with existing systems and efforts where possible. In less than two years, the Antimicrobial Use & Stewardship program’s efforts, through in-house surveys and contracted studies, have developed data from nearly 1,400 operations, representing more than half a million animals across 55 counties in California, and- reflecting antibiotic use and management practices across beef and dairy cattle, sheep, and backyard poultry operations.
Additionally, the Antimicrobial Use & Stewardship program has initiated on-farm sampling, covering a population of more than 50 operations and 128,000 animals in California that will voluntarily be sampled over time. Data collection efforts are ongoing and will continue to expand as the program moves forward.
CDFA is committed to fulfilling the requirements of state law and continuing to work with all stakeholders to achieve a safe, secure, and bountiful food supply, while reducing the emergence of antimicrobial resistance.
If it were up to her, CDFA Secretary Karen Ross would rather we all stopped using the word “waste.” That’s what she told the National Renderers Association last week at their conference in Orange County.
When more than 62 billion pounds of animal by-products are converted annually into usable commodities such as animal feed, biofuels, fertilizers, soaps, and paints, that’s no longer “waste,” that’s a sustainable livestock and meat industry. Renderers play a critical role to agriculture by recycling fallen animals to protect the health of our livestock populations, public health, and the environment. Renderers also provide a vital service to the restaurant sector by converting used cooking oil into biodiesel.
When 75 percent of California’s biodiesel production comes from used cooking oil, that’s no longer primarily a “waste” product – it’s an energy product. And when those diesel-substitute biofuels also provide significant greenhouse gas reductions, that’s not “waste,” that’s climate change mitigation. There are more opportunities out there along these same lines – ways to get organic waste out of landfills and into productive, beneficial roles in our marketplace. And California’s Rendering Industry has a long history of leading that transformation.