Sustainable meat production: A practical approach

Feeding 2 billion more people with higher incomes by 2050 will put a lot more stress on natural resources. At the same time, the world needs to adjust to climate change and reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. The livestock sector is a significant player in this regard, accounting directly or indirectly for a substantial share of land and water resources. But it is also major source of nutrition, contributes to carbon storage in pastures, preserves biodiversity and shapes cultural landscapes – in other words livestock is an important contributor to sustainability. These are the themes discussed by the workshop “Sustainable meat production, a practical approach…” organized by The World Farmers’ Organisation (WFO), OIE, International Meat Secretariat (IMS) and Bayer HealthCare Animal Health on the day before the WFO General Assembly in Buenos Aires.

The event was attended by Mr. Arturo Llavallol, President, International Meat Secretariat (IMS), Mr. Bruce Wills, Board Member WFO, Dr. Luis Osvaldo Barcos, Regional Representative OIE, Mr. Uwe Mucke, Head, Bayer HealthCare Animal Health Latin America, Mr. Hsin Huang, Executive Director, International Meat Secretariat (IMS), Dr. Henning Steinfeld, Chief, FAO, Dr. Chandra Bhushan, Manager, Bayer HealthCare Animal Health, Ms. Basia Romanowicz, Head, World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA).

What does sustainability mean in practice? Private sector and international organisations – IMS, WFO, FAO, OIE, WSPA, Bayer discussed the economic, social and environmental aspects of sustainability. The international perspective were complemented by concrete examples from the Latin American region.

“Livestock farming is a fundamental element for achieving sustainable food security, especially in consideration of the growing population that requires constant increase of food demand.” said Board Member, WFO. “Animal well being is an important factor of this process that it is becoming of a great interest to farmers, market, scientist community, public institutions and the final consumers. All stakeholders have to work closely to put in place favorable conditions to ensure a an environmental-sound increase of livestock production, in order to meet the world’s demand of food copying with climate change. Partnership among institutions that work on same matters is fundamental to establish a one way direction towards the achievement of global sustainable standards in the production of food, including livestock. The partnership between WFO and Bayer Animal HealthCare is a great example of collaboration between diverse actors working on the same direction towards the livestock welfare.”

“Healthy animals are an important part of our daily lives and are essential for global public health. As the growing world population requires more and more animal protein such as milk, eggs, meat and fish, sustainable farming practices become more crucial. Bayer is actively engaged with many organizations to enhance animal health and well-being, which are vital elements of sustainable farming. We are also pleased to support the World Farmers’ Organisation as part of our global efforts to raise awareness of these topics and contribute towards making the world a better place for animals and humans” said Uwe Mucke, Head of Bayer HealthCare Animal Health Latin America.