I am sure you saw the headlines a few weeks ago about Burger King’s new advertising campaign and how the fast food retailer plans to reduce greenhouse gases by including lemongrass in cattle diets. Well, surprise, surprise! Their description of cows emitting gas (aka farts) is just plain wrong and the research they used on the feed ingredient is inconclusive.
One of the main reasons the American Feed Industry Association formed over a century ago was to harmonize state feed laws. Now, in 2020, our organization still tracks legislative and regulatory issues of importance happening at the state level, and recent actions in California highlighted yet another urgent reason why this is necessary.
Use less water. Use less electricity. Use less plastic. People, communities and organizations all over are trying to use less to help protect the environment and lower carbon footprints. But in the animal agriculture world, using less goes by different words: feed efficiency.
“There's nothing that does so much harm as good intentions.”
That quote was one of the first things I heard in my college introductory economics course. American economist Milton Friedman formally introduced me to the concept that every action has consequences – intended and unintended – and responsible decision-makers should do their best to understand those before taking strong actions. The quote could not be more fitting than now, following the newly announced European Green Deal.
When the Animal Agriculture Alliance and the American Feed Industry Association were approached to sign onto a letter on the value of animal agriculture, neither group hesitated to fully support this initiative. We needed to say with one, loud voice – animal agriculture is not to blame for the coronavirus pandemic and in fact, we may offer an important part of the solution.
I think most people would agree that ice cream is a delicious treat year-round, but there is just something about eating an ice cream cone on a hot, summer day that makes it so much better. With this weekend marking the official start of summer and June being National Dairy Month, now is an excellent time to walk through the journey that ice cream takes from crop to cone.
Since writing the first post on April 17 highlighting all the ways our members are giving back to their local communities throughout the COVID-19 crisis, I continued to see many more reports of our members going above and beyond. I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge all the great things these companies have done to help people during this time.
It seems every month has a great agricultural product to celebrate and May is no exception to that. Almost everyone in my family loves eating eggs, but I think my husband loves them the most. Scrambled, fried, over-easy, poached, hard-boiled – honestly, I don’t think there is a way he doesn’t like eggs. What makes me happy about my choice in preparing eggs for my family is not only are they very nutritious (what other product can pack in 13 essential vitamins and minerals and high-quality protein for only 70 calories?), but the egg industry has come a long way in hen health and sustainability.
The headlines across the news and social media are daunting. They range from people needing help feeding their families and pets to medical and first responders calling for more personal protective equipment (PPE) so that they can stay safe while caring for others. Did you know, the U.S. animal food industry is working in many areas to help others during these tough times? Are you wondering how you or your company can help during the novel coronavirus pandemic? Below are a few examples from around the industry and ideas to consider.
Every year when Earth Day rolls around, I celebrate the marvels that our environmental ecosystems are. The abundance of biodiversity on our planet is one to celebrate. Biodiversity keeps our planet healthy and simultaneously provides us with countless opportunities to harness nature to provide the feed, food, fiber and fuel needed to sustain our society. It is an amazing balance that also requires anyone involved in agriculture to wisely use our resources and conserve them for our future.