Meat+Poultry - November 2022 - 23

sectors reduce their emissions. Additionally,
⅓ of food produced globally is either lost
or wasted. "
So, how will food manufacturers feed a
growing world population without wrecking
the planet? The future of protein production
will need to be more sustainability focused
than before as consumers increasingly focus
on their own carbon footprint.
END-TO-END SUSTAINABILITY
Livestock production and meat processing
often are implicated for negative impacts on
the environment. As a result, producers and
processors are focused on implementing farmto-fork
sustainability practices and processes.
The Food and Agriculture Organization
of the UN stated that total emissions from
global livestock per year represent 14.5% of all
" anthropogenic GHG emissions, and cattle are
the animal species responsible for the most
greenhouse gas emissions representing about
65% of the livestock sector's emissions.
Industry stakeholders note that farmers
and ranchers have relied on conservation and
sustainable production practices for decades.
Any mitigations to GHG impacts will include
animal agriculture. The difference will be
steps the industry is taking now to improve
future outcomes for the environment. So,
segment watchers can expect to hear a lot
more about conservation efforts, including
regenerative agriculture.
" It's nothing new, but it's going back to
what farmers have been doing, and nature has
been doing, for millennia, " said Nadine Rich,
marketing director at Denver-based Teton
Waters Ranch. " When you look back several
hundred years ago, there were 30 to 60 million
bison not to mention deer and elk - ruminant
animals that were grazing and moving along
and leaving behind fertilizer and airing the soil.
That continued to help with soil health. So,
taking those types of tenets and doing that with
managed grazing of cattle is our way to mimic
nature's systems that we know work. "
Managed grazing of cattle on open pastures
of grassland is part of a cycle that enables
the use of land that can't be used for growing
crops, but cattle can use for sustenance to
create nutrient-dense beef for consumers.
At the same time, dirt is becoming soil that
is significantly healthier, has more water
retention and sequestering carbon " ... and
creating and keeping in balance an ecosystem
that brings life, or biodiversity, into that
system, " Rich said.
Evolving animal husbandry practices
will accompany mindful stewardship of the
land as more consumers express interest in
regenerative agriculture and look for product
labels bearing label claims and certifications
such as Non-GMO, free from and natural. The
2022 Power of Meat study found that many
consumers believe that meat and poultry
products that are better for them, the planet,
animals and/or the workers are interconnected
and 86% of people look for production claims
on meat packages.
" One-third of consumers specifically look
for claims-based meat, particularly 'US-raised,'
'no added hormones' and 'no antibiotics use,' "
the study said. " Claims-based meat grew over
the record 2020 levels (+1.6%) and sales are
significantly higher versus 2019 (+17.7%). "
" I think anything, that anything that's
better-for-you - and that could be grass-fed,
organic, no antibiotics, no growth hormones
- the consumer wants to know more about
where their food is coming from and I think
that's a really good thing, " said Dana Ehrlich,
chief executive officer and co-founder of Verde
Farms, a Woburn, Mass.-based producer of
natural meat. " Verde as a brand is both doing
a lot of consumer research and focus groups,
shop-alongs, quantitative research, qualitative
research, to better understand our consumers'
needs and then reaching out to them through
various mechanisms. That could be packaging
on the shelf, that could be social, digital media
campaigns and consumers are responding. "
On the processing side, companies such
as Cargill, Tyson Foods and Maple Leaf
Foods, to name a few, are investing in facility
improvements such as energy-saving LED
lighting; smart utility meters to measure and
monitor consumption of electricity, gas, water;
and outside air ventilation systems with energy
recovery features among other upgrades.
And initiatives such as the Protein PACT
for the People, Animals and Climate of
Tomorrow, a joint venture by 12 organizations
representing the meat, poultry and dairy
industry along with animal feed and
ingredients, aim to verify progress toward
sustainability goals across all animal protein
Anything that's
better-for-you -
and that could
be grass-fed,
organic, no
antibiotics,
no growth
hormones - the
consumer
wants to know
more about
where their
food is coming
from and I
think that's
a really good
thing. "
- DANA EHRLICH
www.meatpoultry.com | 11.22 | MEAT+POULTRY
23
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Meat+Poultry - November 2022

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