Recognizing animal protein’s critical role ahead of UN Climate Summit Agriculture Day

WASHINGTON, DC – The Interamerican Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) convened its first-ever “Sustainable Agriculture in the Americas” pavilion at the UN Climate Summit (COP27) and partnered with the Protein PACT and other stakeholders to convene a total of 9 events focused on animal agriculture’s key role in sustainability solutions.

The Protein PACT events included a November 9 panel on sustainable livestock across regions and production systems (see IICA press release here), National Pork Board Assistant Vice President Ashley McDonald shared U.S. pork’s commitments to ethical principles, best practices, and documenting proof. The Pork Board and Pork Checkoff pioneered on-farm sustainability reports, which have been awarded $20 million in USDA Climate-Smart Commodities grant funding to expand measurement and implementation of climate-smart practices.

North American Meat Institute Chief Strategy Officer Eric Mittenthal moderated a November 10 panel featuring scientific evidence on the essential dietary contributions of animal-source foods and optimizing animal agriculture’s environmental impact.

The Meat Institute’s first-ever continuous improvement data report released last week found that among companies accounting for an estimated 90% of meat sold in the United States, 81% of reporting facilities are covered by company-wide commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Meat Institute aims for 100% of members to have delivered emissions reduction targets approved by the Science-Based Targets Initiative by 2030.

Speaking on the November 10 panel, Dr. Adegbola Adesogan, Director of the University of Florida Food Systems Institute commented:

“Most common measures of environmental impact ignore nutrient-density – the contribution of foods to achieving recommended intakes of critical nutrients. Sustainability solutions must ensure sustainable production of animal-source foods, which are “brain foods” for the children our future depends on.

Eating meat, dairy, and eggs improves children’s cognition and growth, and raising animals for food provides livelihoods and is a cornerstone of many cultures, particularly in the Global South.”

Dr. Manual Otero, Director General of IICA, welcomed the Protein PACT’s partnership and said:

“The livestock sector is moving at full tilt towards sustainability in the Americas and around the world and continues to play a central and invaluable role in global food security. IICA and its member states will continue to champion at COP27 and future COPs the critical role of sustainable agriculture, including livestock production, in the Americas.”

Notes for editors

The Protein PACT convened four events in the IICA pavilion:

• November 9 panel on sustainable livestock efforts across regions and production systems, with participation from:
  • Ashley McDonald, National Pork Board (moderator)
  • William Hohenstein, U.S. Department of Agriculture
  • Laura Cramer, International Livestock Research Institute
  • Gianni Motta, Uruguay National Meat Institute (INAC)
  • Max Makuvise, Makera Cattle (Zimbabwe) and the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef
• November 10 panel on the role of nutrient-dense animal proteins in sustainable food security
  • Eric Mittenthal, Meat Institute (moderator)
  • Dr. Sol Ortiz, Mexican Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
  • Diana Rodgers RD, Sustainable Dish and the Global Food Justice Alliance
  • Dr. Adegbola Adesogan, University of Florida Food Systems Institute
  • Dr. Muhammad Ibrahim, Director General, Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE)
  • Dr. Frank Mitloehner, Director, UC Davis CLEAR Center (recorded)
• November 11 panel on the sustainability impacts of co-products, by-products, and other ways animal agriculture reduces waste
  • Steve Sothmann, Leather and Hide Council of America (moderator)
  • Bob Lowe, Burnt Ranch Farm (Canada) and Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef
  • Mauricio Bauer, JBS Brazil
  • Verity Ulibarri, AVVA Farms (New Mexico) Solutions from the Land
  • Bryan Sievers, Sievers Family Farms (Iowa) and American Biogas Council

About North American Meat Institute
The Meat Institute is the United States’ oldest and largest trade association representing packers and processors of beef, pork, lamb, veal, turkey, and processed meat products. NAMI members include over 350 meat packing and processing companies, the majority of which have fewer than 100 employees, and account for over 95 percent of the United States’ output of meat and 70 percent of turkey production.

About the Protein PACT
The Protein PACT unites partners across animal protein to accelerate the entire sector’s progress toward global sustainable development goals for healthy people, healthy animals, healthy communities, and a healthy environment. Protein PACT partners are establishing transparent baselines and benchmarks, setting ambitious targets for continuous improvement, collecting data to verify and transparently report on progress, and launching comprehensive communications about animal protein’s unique place in healthy diets and sustainable food systems. To learn more, visit www.TheProteinPACT.org.