Global food waste must be reduced
About one-third of all food produced globally is going to waste, an absurd situation in the face of growing world hunger, related in large part to defective supply chains and storage – and now aggravated by climate change and associated floods and droughts. It is encouraging that the issue of industrial agriculture’s contribution to climate change and the need to adopt sustainable and humane systems of food production were addressed at the recent international summit conference in Dubai. For details, go to “4 Key Takeaways for Food Systems From the COP28 Climate Summit” (sentientmedia.org).
Producing meat from farmed animals is a major contributing factor to climate change and loss of wildlife habitat to grow feed, especially corn and soybeans, and expanded grazing. But even this sector of the food industry there is massive, documented waste. Each year, an estimated 18 billion chickens, turkeys, pigs, sheep, goats and cows either die or are killed without making it onto someone’s plate because of diseases and spoilage. That equals 52.4 million tons of bone-free, edible meat, roughly one-sixth of all the meat produced globally. For details, see Juliane Klaura et al, “Animal lives embodied in food loss and waste,” Sustainable Production and Consumption (2023).
Some of this condemned meat goes into pet foods or is recycled, and not without risk, into livestock feed. It is self-evident that this sector of the food industry needs to be reformed, and nonvegan consumers must support locally produced, ideally organically fed and humanely raised farmed animal products as per the Animal Welfare Certified label under CertifiedGAP.org. A few pet food companies like Halo, The Honest Kitchen and Earth Animal show this certification on their products.
Tyson Foods is collaborating with Protix, a company developing insect ingredients for pet food and livestock feed, on a multiyear project to integrate sustainable protein in products. Tyson will invest in a U.S. facility to scale up production, which will produce three to four times the larvae Protix currently produces in its Dutch facility.
Protix makes insect-based ingredients for healthy and sustainable pet food, aquaculture, livestock feed and organic fertilizer. With breeding, rearing and processing under one roof, the company has complete control of the production chain. The company is on a mission to create low-footprint ingredients that solve major issues in the current food system. Protix contributes to a circular food chain by using waste from the food industry as feed for the black soldier fly.
The AVMA has published an updated version of the popular disaster preparedness guide that helps pet owners be ready to safeguard their companion animals in the event of an emergency or natural disaster. Save the Whole Family: Disaster Preparedness for Households with Pets is a free, downloadable booklet filled with tips, checklists and important information for companion animal owners. Visit the AVMA@Work blog to learn more about AVMA’s updated disaster preparedness guide.
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