Posted by: Colleen Parr Dekker
22 companies from 6 countries across livestock production request seat at global table on climate change
GREENFIELD, Ind. (September 22, 2021) – Today, more than 20 global leaders from one of the world’s largest industries, animal agriculture, announced their intention to address the interconnected and urgent challenges of climate change and hunger. Signatories represent global meat, milk, fish and egg production — demonstrating their potential impact in addressing climate change and hunger.
With just nine years left to curb emissions or see irreversible damage to the planet and a full 30% - 2.3 billion - of the world’s population lacking year-round access to adequate nutrition, commitment from these leading food producers has never been more important. Signatories are developing their plans to focus on four key areas where progress is needed to help enable the Sustainable Development Goal outcomes by 2030: measurement, innovation, market creation, and communication.
This pledge follows on the heels of the September 14 event, Sustainable Solutions for Zero Hunger by 2030: A Vision for Animal Agriculture Forum. Held ahead of the United Nation’s Food Systems Summit, more than 600 global business leaders, policy makers and key opinion leaders from 25 countries convened to accelerate existing efforts moving livestock production toward climate-neutrality.
“Our world faces the converging, global challenges of hunger and climate change, and we have limited time left to curb emissions and reduce damage to our planet,” said Jeff Simmons, president and CEO of Elanco. “At the same time, two in three people are getting the wrong nutrition, causing challenges from hunger and malnutrition to obesity. These problems need urgent solutions, and there is zero margin for error in how we respond. That’s why we’ve convened our customers in a fast-moving and long-term effort to help solve these challenges. We see animals’ ability to nourish the world while cooling the climate and opening the net era of opportunity for industry, making an impact in this decade.”
While all industries have their part to play, animal agriculture is uniquely positioned to make change now. The short-lived nature of methane1 in the atmosphere offers animal agriculture the possibility to make an impact and slow the overall rate of warming. If livestock producers can curb methane emissions by just one third, it can slow the overall rate of warming, creating a cooling effect, achieving climate neutral meat and milk2 and allowing the world more time to address the more complex and long-term CO2 challenges.
Commitments from the industry center around meeting the increased demand for meat, milk, fish and eggs in ways that benefit the environment, human health and nutrition, animal welfare and food affordability. Many farmers and ranchers have already stepped up to the challenge by implementing new technologies and processes to modernize farming practices and create more food with fewer resources.
A full list of signatories includes:
- Australian Country Choice
- Avara Foods
- Aviagen
- Beef Marketing Group
- Cactus Feeders
- Christensen Farms
- Consolidated Pastoral Company
- CPC Livestock
- Elanco Animal Health
- Fair Oaks Farms
- Friona Industries
- Iowa Select Farms
- Matli
- New Fashion Pork
- Nutra Blend
- Pronaca
- Purina Animal Nutrition LLC
- Rose Acre Farms
- Senpilic
- Ted Parker Ranch
- Toledano
- United Dairymen of Arizona
The full statement can be found here.
ABOUT ELANCO
Elanco Animal Health Incorporated (NYSE: ELAN) is a global leader in animal health dedicated to innovating and delivering products and services to prevent and treat disease in farm animals and pets, creating value for farmers, pet owners, veterinarians, stakeholders, and society as a whole. With nearly 70 years of animal health heritage, we are committed to helping our customers improve the health of animals in their care, while also making a meaningful impact on our local and global communities. At Elanco, we are driven by our vision of Food and Companionship Enriching Life and our Elanco Healthy Purpose™ Sustainability/ESG Pledges –all to advance the health of animals, people, and the planet. Learn more at elanco.com.
1 https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/downloads/academic/201908_ClimatePollutants.pdf
